Yellow Maelstrom
by Blazing Demon
Summary: Shortly after failing the graduation exam, Naruto steals the forbidden scroll and finds a scroll addressed to him inside. Armed with it, he will strive to become the best as his heritage is revealed to him and rock the Shinobi world.
1. Chapter 1

The Yellow Maelstrom

Summary

Shortly after failing the graduation exam, Naruto steals the forbidden scroll and finds a scroll addressed to him inside. Armed with it, he will strive to become the best as his heritage is revealed to him and he rocks the Shinobi world as a force to be reckoned with.

Welcome before those that have read this start saying oh you stole this no I didn't. After speaking with Delions. It is apparent that he is a very busy man and so has allowed me to adopt it. The chapters he has done will not be tampered with unless Delions gives me a prompt to. With that said lets begin.

Remember, I don't own Naruto.

"Normal Speech"

"_Thoughts"_

"**Kyuubi Influenced Naruto or Kyuubi"**

"_**Kyuubi Thoughts"**_

_Jutsus being used_

~Revelations~

He was tired and sweaty, but he had done it! He had stolen the Forbidden scroll of seals from the Hokage tower and had learned one of the techniques in it like his teacher Mizuki had told him. He had just failed his genin exam for the third consecutive time and was very downcast. His Sensei Mizuki had told him of the alternate exam. That's why he was now here. Practicing the _Kage Bunshin _Technique, and he had just got it right. To say that Naruto Uzumaki was excited would be an understatement.

Naruto sat down for a quick breather before looking at the scroll again.

"Um, let's see. I've got the _Kage Bunshin no jutsu_ down. Hmm… next S_huriken Kage Bunshin no Jutsu, Kunai Kage Bunshin No Jutsu, Bunshin Bakuha._ I'll copy these down to learn later," He thought with a large grin plastered on his face. He quickly reached into his Hideous orange jacket and pulled out an empty scroll with ink and brush. '_the benefits of being a prankster'_ he thought.

After copying down the three techniques, he quickly skimmed through the next part of the scroll and saw something that would forever change his life, though he didn't know it at the moment. Right there on the scroll was his name written "**To Naruto Uzumaki"**.

Curious as to what it was, he studied it for a bit and noticed that it was a blood seal. Now many would have thought that he would not have such advanced knowledge, but he knew this because the Sandaime Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, usually delivered his monthly allowance to him in such scrolls. Therefore identifying one was a menial task for him. He quickly nicked his thumb with a kunai from his equipment pouch and smeared the blood over the seal while pouring chakra into the scroll. Immediately, another scroll appeared.

He was curious about it but put it into his pocket for later along with the scroll containing the copies of the shadow techniques.

As he stood up beginning to wonder weather or not his sensei would show up, he heard someone enter the clearing, huffing from having run a long distance.

"You!" said an angry voice from behind him. He quickly turned around and smiled when he saw his academy teacher Iruka Umino.

"Heh, hey Iruka-Sensei, I found you." Said Naruto.

"Baka, I found YOU!" Shouted the teacher.

"I only managed to learn one of the techniques on the scroll but you'll have to pass me for sure!" grinned an enthusiastic Naruto while pumping his fist into the air.

Now this confused Iruka as he pondered '_he's been training, no wonder he's so exhausted. But what's he talking about graduating…..'_

"Mizuki sensei told me about the alternate graduation exam," continued Naruto eagerly, "he said if I learnt a technique from the scroll I'd pass for sure".

" Naruto.." began Iruka, but he was quickly cut off by the sound of six kunai heading towards him. He quickly turned around but was so shocked to see who the attacker was that he took the weapons head on.

He stifled a gasp. "Mizuki" he breathed out venomously. "Why?"

Mizuki simply snorted and said, "I see you found the gaki for me. Congratulations, you just signed your death warrant along with the demon gaki over there."

Naruto could not believe what he was hearing. The teacher who was always smiling at him wanted to kill him! He started to panic and almost broke down until he heard the voice of Iruka telling him

"get away from here Naruto, just don't let Mizuki get his hands on the scroll, he's using you to get it for himself."

Naruto was shocked, but made to get up and run. Before he could make but 5 steps, Mizuki took six shuriken from his equipment pouch and flung them at Naruto at an incredible speed.

Iruka saw the attack and tried his best to remove Naruto from its path but in so doing ended up with three of the weapons in his chest and shoulder while the others missed and lodged themselves into a nearby tree.

"Why do you protect him?" sneered an angry Mizuki, "after all the things that this demon did you still stand by his side? Why do you protect a demon that killed hundreds of innocent people?"

"Stop it Mizuki!" exclaimed Iruka, "You know we're not supposed to speak of this. It forbidden for a reason!" stated Iruka. He tried to stop Mizuki from telling Naruto about the Kyuubi sealed inside of him.

Mizuki however had no intention of stopping and continued on. For years he had wanted nothing more than to wring Naruto's neck or stick a kunai in his throat. Now that he got his chance, he definitely wasn't going to pass it up.

"Naruto, do you know why everybody hates you, why everybody treats you so bad like you did something, why nobody wants to be your friend? Off course you don't know it's an S class secret after all. Listen well you little demon, twelve years ago the Yondaime didn't kill the Kyuubi instead he sealed it into a baby. And do you know who that baby was? Can you take a guess or are you too dumb to figure it out?"

Naruto stood shell-shocked. All the things that he had once thought were a coincidence were now being explained. No wonder he always suffered the worst beatings on his birthday, October tenth, which was coincidentally the day the Kyuubi was "killed". No wonder all of the parents told their children to stay away from him and he was always alone. The Kyuubi was sealed inside of him. He was broken from his musings when he heard his other teacher shout out

"Please Mizuki, stop it". But the cry fell on deaf ears as he continued on. "You were the one chosen to contain the Kyuubi, you are the Nine Tailed Demon Fox!

'_No'_ thought Naruto '_am I really the Kyuubi. If that's the case then maybe I should just die'_

Mizuki, seeing his chance took a fuma shuriken from his back and flung it full force towards the paralyzed Naruto while screaming out "dieeeeeeeee".

"Nooo" shouted Iruka as he pushed as much chakra as he dared into his legs and was a blur as he sped towards Naruto.

The next few moments looked like a blur to naruto as he looked up after feeling a warm liquid fall on his face. "W-why-y?" he stuttered out. "Why did you protect me?" Naruto was at a loss for words. He knew that Iruka cared for him as a student, but to go to such lengths was unimaginable to him. Having never been shown such compassion

"I protected you because you're precious to me." He said. "You and I are a lot alike naruto. We're both orphans, and pranksters at heart. We both grew up alone and ended up seeking attention in the wrong way. If only I'd seen it; how much you were hurt. Growing up alone, I could've helped you more because I've been in your situation. But I didn't and I'm sorry Naruto. From now on I swear to protect you Naruto, to help you as much as I can. Now, get out of here, run as fast as you can towards Hokage-sama and explain everything to him."

"Hai, Iruka-sensei," said Naruto with tears threatening to fall from his eyes, "Arigatou, for accepting me."

With that said, he shot forward in a sprint towards the Hokage tower.

"Now look what you've done." Said Mizuki. "Now I'm gonna have to search for him and kill you afterwards" he laughed.

'Naruto' was running through the trees when suddenly 'Iruka' appeared behind him saying "Naruto, hand me the scroll before Mizuki catches up to you."

'Naruto' promptly turned around and head butted 'Iruka' as they both fell to the forest floor.

"How'd you know that I'm not Iruka?" asked Mizuki as the _Henge_ that he had slipped away.

"Because I'm Iruka" he replied as the henged Naruto turned to Iruka.

"Heh, why to you protect that demon Iruka?" asked Mizuki. "You know that it killed a whole lot of people 12 years ago. It even killed your parents Iruka! Don't you hate that stupid fox for killing your parents and leaving you homeless?"

"You're right" replied Iruka, "I Hate the fox for doing that"

A small ways away behind a tree, Naruto immediately broke down with his shoulders slumped. '_To think that I thought that he actually cared for me'_ thought Naruto. But hearing the next few words that were spoken by Iruka immediately changed his mindset.

"I hate the fox sealed inside of Naruto, but I can never hate him! He may not be the brightest student, and he may be clumsy and pull pranks but he's one of my precious people and one of the future Hokages of Konohagure no Sato. He's Naruto Uzumaki. Believe it!"

"Whatever Iruka," said Mizuki. "I was saving you for after I killed the demon brat but I'm gonna be finishing you off first."

With that, he quickly removed a giant shuriken from his backpack and flung it full speed towards Iruka.

'_So this is how I die'_ thought Iruka '_I'm sorry Naruto, I couldn't protect you.'_

Naruto, who had been looking on all the time, was amazed by the words that his teacher had spoken. And after hearing such a confession from his teacher would die before he let him go so easily. Mustering as much strength as he could, he flew through the air and kicked the shuriken out of the air. When he landed, he stayed in a crouched position with his blonde hair overshadowing his face.

He then said "If you lay even one finger on Iruka-Sensei, **I'll Kill You**"

Mizuki simply laughed out loud and said "You and what army punk!"

Here was the dead-last of the academy threatening a Chuunin with death. The very thought was laughable at best. It was downright hilarious to him. While being caught up in his own musings, he failed to notice the faint outline of chakra that began to seep out of Naruto while he prepared himself for his jutsu. He still continued to taunt Naruto by saying,

"Tell you what, I'll give you a chance before I kill you."

Naruto, not wasting anytime time said "whatever you dish out, I'll send it back at you a thousand times harder. _Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!_"

Numerous puffs of smoke later, a sea of orange was the only thing that could describe the scene before the two academy teachers.

Both stood with their eyes bulging out of their sockets as they gazed upon the technique performed by Naruto. Never in their lives would they have expected the dead-last of the academy to be able to perform a B-ranked Kinjutsu in the span of mere hours let alone master it to such an extent! Here was the same person who couldn't even create a _Bunshin_ even if his life depended on it mastering a Kinjutsu.

Mizuki was in an entranced state, he couldn't believe his eyes! So Naruto merely took advantage of the situation and shouted to all of the clones

"CHARGE".

Before long, all that was left of Mizuki was a bloody pulp for his body. Naruto, while grinning like an idiot rubbed the back of his head sheepishly and said

"Ne, Iruka-sensei, do you think I went a little overboard?"

Iruka having had little time to process all that he had seen immediately perked up and just smiled at his favourite student. Here he thought that Naruto was a slow learner and would probably have to repeat the academy another year, but it seemed that he earned the right to be called a genin and he would be sure to honor what Mizuki had told Naruto, even if it was with evil intentions.

"Come over here Naruto" he said.

"Heh" laughed Naruto when he arrived.

"Close your eyes Naruto."

Naruto did as asked and closed his eyes and was about to ask what was the matter till he felt cold metal against his forehead and hearing his teacher say

"You can open them now."

"What…"

he began saying kinda confused until he saw that his teachers forehead was bare, the exact place where his Hiate-ate used to be. He gasped.

"Congratulations on passing Naruto, I expect great things from you" said the Chuunin.

He almost didn't have time to complete his statement before he was enveloped in a bone crushing hug from Naruto with a cry of

"Iruka-sensei!"

"Omph" stifled Iruka as Naruto literally crushed him. "Easy there, we've got to get to the hospital and get this looked over ok"

."Sure thing Sensei" replied Naruto enthusiastically.

And so the two began their slow trek back to the village proper, both wearing identical smiles on their faces while dragging an unconscious Mizuki and the forbidden scroll behind them.

Unknown to Naruto and Iruka, a deep rumbling was currently sounding in his head saying "**It is time".**

And that's all folks.

Please read and review.


	2. Chapter 2

The Yellow Maelstrom

Summary

Shortly after failing the graduation exam, Naruto steals the forbidden scroll and finds a scroll addressed to him inside. Armed with it, he will strive to become the best as his heritage is revealed to him and he rocks the Shinobi world as a force to be reckoned with.

Remember, I don't own Naruto.

Moving on, each update will be every week until I start having to use my own material. …. Is my beta reader for this so future chapters will have been approved by the original author. Ok I've banged on about the details enough, now lets begin.

Please remember to review.

"Normal Speech"

"_Thoughts"_

"**Kyuubi Influenced Naruto or Kyuubi"**

"_**Kyuubi Thoughts"**_

_Jutsus being used_

Chapter 2 – An Overdue Introduction

To say that Hiruzen Sarutobi was tired would be the understatement of the year. Earlier that night while going back to the Hokage Tower after a long days work to retrieve a scroll for his son Asuma, he fell prey to one of the most dangerous Jutsus that he had ever seen; Naruto's _Sexy Jutsu_. Now this begs the question of what Naruto was doing in the Hokage Tower at that time, something that he had recently resolved while looking at the battle between Naruto and Mizuki through his Viewing Orb.

He had found out that Naruto had been tricked by one of his academy instructors, namely Mizuki into stealing the Forbidden Scroll of Seals as a way to graduate from the academy. He had proceeded to look at the ensuing battle between Iruka and Mizuki and felt a sense of relief that Iruka had taken his words to heart and accepted Naruto. He had watched Nonplussed as Naruto learned the truth about the Kyuubi and then kicked the living daylights out of Mizuki. It was at this point that he called off the search and informed the Shinobi that the scroll was in safe hands.

He continued to look as Iruka removed his headband and tied it around Naruto's Forehead and then continued on towards the Hospital where Iruka was treated for his injuries. Which brought him to the present, a knock was heard and with a quick "Enter", his secretary informed him that Naruto and Iruka were here to see him.

When they entered, Naruto was in the front literally dragging his Sensei behind him with a grin that could rival that of a fox on his face.

"Oji-san" he yelled out as soon as he entered

"It's been a while eh Naruto?" Sarutobi said while maintaining an impassive face.

This cause Naruto to smile even wider and the elder Hokage finally gave way and let a small smile spread on his lips.

"Please be seated," he said gesturing with his hand. "We have much to talk about."

And so began a recollection of the night's activities by Naruto, with Iruka adding in bits and pieces where necessary. Naruto though carefully omitted the parts where he received the scroll and copied the other techniques.

After completing their tale, the Hokage just shook his head and chuckled deeply. You could always count on Naruto to provide entertainment in the village. Just earlier that day he had painted the Hokage Mountain and would have gotten away with it had it not been for Iruka finding him. It was still a mystery to him how Naruto seemed to outrun and outwit most of his Chuunin, Jounin, and even the occasional ANBU sent on his trail.

"Now Naruto, I know that you stole the scroll" the Hokage began. At the mention of this, Naruto's face turned solemn. "And I know that you found out about the Kyuubi stuck in your gut", at this the 12 year old winced, but the Hokage continued on "but you should in no way believe even for a second that you are the Kyuubi. You are Naruto Uzumaki, proud genin of Konoha, and Shinobi in training. Get that through your head. You see, after sealing the Kyuubi into you, the Yondaime had one final request, and that was for the villagers of Konoha to see you as the hero that you are. His final wishes however were not fulfilled, hence the kind of life that you led. But don't worry naruto, we believe in you." He finished with a warm smile.

At that point Naruto looked up with tears threatening to fall for the third time that night. Here he was yet again being acknowledged by another person. '_Maybe' _he thought _'maybe I'm slowly getting the village to recognize me, to recognize that I'm not the Kyuubi but Naruto Uzumaki; Even if it only began with two people._

When he looked at the Sandaime, you could literally see the fire burning within him as he decided to prove his worth to the village.

Seeing this, the Sandaime was content. He was happy to know that Naruto had at least found someone precious to him and from the looks of things would do whatever it takes to keep them.

"So Naruto" asked Iruka, "What are you planning to do now that you've become a genin?"

"Well after getting placed on a team, I'm gonna be training like there's no tomorrow so I'll be able to protect my precious people and the entire village. Then maybe someday, they will all accept me and I'll have an honest shot at being Hokage," answered Naruto.

He said this with so much conviction, that Iruka was surprised, the Hokage however had been expecting such a declaration and thought _'heh, he's beginning to act more like you now my friend. I just hope that I will be there to see him fulfill that dream. You would be proud of your son old friend.'_

A stifled yawn was what alerted both experienced ninja's to Naruto's state of tiredness and with a simple nod from the Sandaime, Iruka excused himself but not before informing Naruto that team placements would be taking place in two weeks time and that he should remove his Ninja ID photo the following day.

The Hokage himself personally sunshined Naruto to his apartment where they exchanged goodbyes and Naruto promptly fell asleep. He promptly left to go back to his office but not before writing something on some paper and placing it on the table then going home to get whatever sleep he could.

Naruto awoke with a start. He had just lain down to sleep and here he was already awake. It didn't seem logical to him. Besides, since when did he begin to think of things as logical?

He slowly opened his eyes and tried clearing the cobwebs from his mind. When he did, he looked around him and noticed that he was in some type of sewer.

'_Where am I?'_ he thought, _'it's almost like there's nothing in this place'. _

He continued walking till he could see a faint outline of red a long distance away. Seeing it, he sprinted towards it while feeling drawn to it. When he arrived, he stood in shock for a short moment.

To his front was a large cage with a red tint to it. On the center of said cage was a paper with the Kanji for seal on it! He stifled a gasp and dared not breathe.

Right in front of him was the very creature that he had learned of earlier in the night. He was at a loss for words, until he collected his wits and said

"Kyuubi I Presume."

The creature simply nodded its gigantic head.

"So why am I here in my mind?" asked a curious Naruto.

"**You are here, mortal because I called you while you were in your sleep"** it replied. Naruto's eyebrows rose as if saying silently 'really'. He then asked.

"So what do you want of me, cause for all intents and purposes, I know you to be an evil, death-loving, psychotic demon fox." _'But something doesn't seem right'_ he thought to himself.

At this, the Kyuubi simply looked into his eyes, trying to find some semblance of fear or hatred. It was most surprised when all it found was confidence and an unbreakable will. So it began.

"**I have called you here for many reasons young one. The first of which is to inform you of why I attacked Konoha. The reason for this lies with those who wield the legendary Sharingan. The first of the Uchiha, Madara Uchiha was the one who caused such devastation on the village that you hold so dear to you."**

"Wait a minute, how can this Madara Uchiha be alive if he was the first to gain the Sharingan?" asked a confused Naruto.

"**All will be explained young one,"** continued the Kyuubi. "**You see, this Madara Uchiha was once a leader of the Uchiha's. However, his greed and desire for power was what led to his downfall after killing his brother to obtain a higher level of the Sharingan; the Mangekyou Sharingan. After learning of what he did to obtain this power, he was almost exiled from his clan, and shortly afterward, he challenged the Shodai Hokage to a fight to determine who would be the leader of Konoha. He lost. Shortly after, he was exiled from his clan and vowed revenge on Konoha, even if it cost him his very soul. **

**He wandered for many years and met the seven tailed beast. He made a request to it but it said that said request would only be granted it he bested one of the beasts children in battle. He won, and requested immortality from the seven tailed beast which it granted. However true immortality is even beyond the power of the tailed beasts, therefore he only got a limited form of immortality. True, he would never die of natural age, but extensive damage to the vital points and decapitation would be able to kill him. **

**After this, he waited a few years before fulfilling what he had pledged; revenge on Konoha. He did this by seeking me out from my den. I refused to assist him in doing such an evil especially to a country that had my blessings and so he rushed towards my kits and mate in an attempt to slay them. He didn't succeed. I was overcome with rage and lashed out wildly after him. In my anger, I forget the abilities of that accursed eye and looked him right in it. While in his control, he tortured me with what you call Genjutsu for some time before I was able to overcome it with my massive chakra. Once free, I almost went insane and followed him wherever he went. **

**For days I searched for him and he ultimately led me to Konoha where I proceeded to wreak havoc and destruction upon everything in my way as never seen before. This all happened until the one you call Yondaime sealed me inside of you using the **_**Shiki Fuujin and Shishou Fuuin**_**. Even before he completed the seals he looked at me and asked why I did such. I responded with a gut wrenching howl then said two words 'Madara Uchiha'. It was during that time that he saw the insane look in my eye and apologized for having to do what he did. In that time, he also asked that I watch over you, and that young one is what I've been doing since your birth."**

"Heh, wow." said Naruto "To think that the most destructive force that ever faced the Shinobi world was caused by a human and said force has been watching over me. You know, I knew there was something about you that was out of the ordinary"

"**Why do you say this?" asked the Kyuubi.**

"Because even if I was shocked when I came to the cage, there was no ill intent or malice or hatred coming off of you." Replied the blonde.

"_**Interesting, to think that he would progress so far in such a short space of time. He truly is his fathers' son, but it's not my place to inform him of this.'**_Thought the Kyuubi.

"**You know young one, you are only the second human that has earned my respect in such a short time. The first being the one who sealed me here. But enough of my babbling. The second reason I called you here is to make a request of you. It's been over 12 years that I have experienced the world."**

"I'm not releasing you" said Naruto quickly before the Kyuubi could finish its statement, "even if I wanted to and you may not be as evil as we all thought, I don't know how, but you have to earn your keep."

The Kyuubi was amused by the display. So before any misunderstandings could arise it spoke again.

"**You misunderstand me young one. I do not wish to escape, I merely wish to experience the world again; see what you see, feel what you feel, hear what you hear and so on. To allow this simply tear off the bottom right corner of the seal on the gate. This will also allow me to speak with you and you with me consciously. In exchange I will quicken a process that has already began that I'm sure you are aware of. I will also enhance your senses tomorrow to the highest level possible without excessive damage to you."**

"You mean the fact that I can think and speak clearer" Naruto said matter of-factly.

"**Yes young one. That was as a result of one of the one of the four suppression seals that were placed on you at birth being broken. Each of these seals suppress some of your natural talent and abilities, hence the reason why you found it so difficult to listen to or learn practically everything. However, if you hadn't noticed, as long as you want to learn something you learn it quite quickly."**

"Like the _Kage Bunshin_" he said.

"**Yes" the Kyuubi replied. "That is because you have a photographic memory and it only displayed itself during times of tremendous will power. The other suppression seals were placed for suppressing intelligence, chakra control, chakra and your photographic memory. Now, I will remove these seals now as well as grant you something else when I deem you ready if you allow me to experience what you do."**

'_Sounds fair'_ thought Naruto, so with that in mind, he did as the Kyuubi requested.

"**The changes will take effect when you wake up. The third and final reason that I brought you here is to remind you of the two scrolls that you have in your possession should be read as soon as possible. Also, I should tell you now that I will aid you in training, but only if you can find an additional use for the **_**Kage Bunshin no Jutsu."**_

"Thanks a lot Kyuubi. By the way, is your name Kyuubi, or is it just your title?" asked a curious naruto.

"**It is but a title. My name as you put it is Hikari and I was once a guardian of the Light. But that my young friend, is a story for another time." **It replied.

"Is that all?" asked Naruto.

"**For now, yes. I'll send you on your way now young one"**

"ok" said Naruto.

"**By the way," **said the Kyuubi as Naruto began to disappear**, "get rid of that atrocious orange jumpsuit. And I'm female. Ha ha ha ha ha."**

As he was disappearing, Naruto was flabbergasted at the final revelation that the Kyuubi had just given to him. That terrible force of nature that everyone thought was male was in actuality a female.

There was as much truth in the statement Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.

That's all for now friends.

Jutsu Translations

_Kage Bunshin no Jutsu_ – Shadow Clone Technique

_Shiki Fuujin_ – Corpse Spirit Sealing Technique

_Shishou Fuuin _– Four Image Seal

Please read and review. Your views are all welcomed.


	3. Chapter 3

The Yellow Maelstrom

Summary

Shortly after failing the graduation exam, Naruto steals the forbidden scroll and finds a scroll addressed to him inside. Armed with it, he will strive to become the best as his heritage is revealed to him and he rocks the Shinobi world as a force to be reckoned with.

Remember, I don't own Naruto.

Thanks again to all of you who continue to review and read. Please continue to do so.

"Normal Speech"

'_Thoughts'_

"**Kyuubi Influenced Naruto or Kyuubi"**

'_**Kyuubi Thoughts'**_

_Jutsus being used/ reading letter, note_

A New Leaf

'Riiiiiiing'. 'Riiiiiiing'. 'Riii-'. A kunai found itself lodged in the centre of the alarm clock as Naruto groggily mumbled something about five more minutes before giving in and opening his eyes. He sat up from his bed and stretched before following his morning ritual. He then looked at the clock up on the wall and noticed that it was 7 in the morning.

'_Why'd I get up so early'_ he thought to himself _'its not like there's classes today_. _Maybe I can go bother Oji-san.' _He thought with a light chuckle. _'Yep, it's settled'_ with that in mind he had a quick breakfast of cereal and was on his way out the door when he noticed a note on the dresser.

'_What's this? Looks like Oji-san's handwriting. Hmm'_ it read

_Hey Naruto, just wanted to let you know that during the two weeks before you get placed in teams, you should train as hard as you can. If you need any help, you are welcome to approach me._

_Sarutobi._

Naruto reread the note then tucked it into his jacket and began his trek to the Hokage tower. On his way, he was suddenly startled by a voice that said

"**You know, the Hokage is right, you should step up your training. If you do then I will be able to hold up my end of the bargain."**

'_Kyu- Hikari_?' he asked

"**It is I" **she replied. **"The Hokage has given you some good advice and I would suggest that you follow it. I have had to hold back on enhancing your senses because it would cause too much of a strain on you. However, over the two week period that you have, you will be training them as they are enhanced, but you will first need some supplies."**

'_What supplies Hikari_?' asked Naruto in his mind as he continued towards the Hokage tower ignoring all of the glares and nasty words that were sent his way.

"**You will need some shades, ear plugs as well as nose plugs." **She replied. "**These will for training your eyes, ears and nose. And don't forget to read those scrolls that I told you of as well as getting better clothing fit for a Shinobi."**

'_Ok, I will.' _Replied Naruto.

And so he continued on his way to the Hokage tower until it occurred to him that maybe he should have a wardrobe makeover before taking his Ninja ID. With that in mind, he made a detour to the shopping district of Konoha and tried store after store, but was either refused service or given the worst goods at each one.

Tired of it all, he almost gave up until he saw a small Shinobi only store that he had never noticed before. So gathering up his courage he entered.

"Good morning and welcome to the Higarashi Shinobi store, how may I help you?" asked the young attendant at the desk.

Naruto was surprised. Never had he been given such a warm welcome in a store before. That alone set them as the best store second only to the Ichiraku Ramen that old man Teuchi owned with his daughter Ayame.

In front of him now sat a dark haired girl with a white sleeveless Chinese style blouse and brown pants.

"Um, Hi, I'm Naruto and I'm looking for a whole wardrobe makeover?" he asked hoping that he would not blow his chance at finally being able to get some half descent ninja gear.

"Well Naruto, you came to the right place. The Higarashi weapons store is one of the best in Konoha. By the way, my name is Tenten Higarashi. Nice to meet you." She said while extending her hand out which Naruto shook.

"Ok. I think I'm gonna need a lot of help cause I've never really done this before," said Naruto shyly.

"Really now?" Said a deep voice from behind him.

He quickly whirled around to face a tall man who looked to be in his late thirties and if looks were anything to go by then he was definitely related to Tenten.

"Hi, I'm the owner of the store Iroshi and Tenten's dad." He said extending his hand for a handshake with a small smile on his lips. In his mind however, an entirely different set of thoughts were being processed.

'_So this is the one that the Yondaime choose to seal the Kyuubi in. Come to think of it, he does look a lot like………hmm I wonder. I'll have to have a talk with the Sandaime sometime soon.'_

He was broken from his thoughts when his daughter asked

"Hey Dad, would you mind manning the cashier for a while, I'm gonna help Naruto pick out his clothes."

"Sure thing Pumpkin, just ensure you don't do anything naughty alright." He said at the expense of his daughter.

Tenten swung her fist at her father but he just held it in place while laughing heartily.

"Come on Naruto, lets go before my dad gets any more ideas," said an irritated Tenten.

"Sure." He replied, not sure of what else he could say.

And so they began their trek throughout the store past various weapons as Tenten Babbled on about virtually every weapon that they passed until they arrived at the clothing department.

"OK, we're here. Now what exactly do you want," asked Tenten.

"Uh, I'm not sure, but I do know that I want clothing that will allow me to blend in. preferably black, dark green, dark blue or red." Replied Naruto.

He was exited to say the least. Who knew that clothes shopping could be this interesting without people pushing you out of the store or charging you three times the listed price for the worse products!

"Hmm. Uh huh. Ummm. Hmmmmmm" Tenten mumbled as she went along picking out clothes of various colors.

After a few minutes of incessant mumbling by Tenten she finally emerged with a large bundle in her arms which she flung unto Naruto who had a hard time keeping his balance until he finally stabilized.

"Go try these on," she ordered.

And that's how the next hour continued for Naruto, with him trying on different outfits and Tenten either voicing her approval or disapproval. In the end, he choose twelve different outfits of pants, form fitting shirts and over shirts. Five in black, three in dark red, two in dark green and the others in blue. Out of the twelve he put one of the black outfits on then was told

"**Ask if they are able to insert amour in the vital areas." **Said Hikari. She had been looking at his choices and she was not disappointed by his apparel. "**Also, request five pairs of armored fingerless gloves."**

He quickly relayed these requests to Tenten and after some searching returned with them.

"Ok, I think that settles my wardrobe," said Naruto, "now its time for weapons."

Before Tenten could even begin her long explanation of the different weapons and their uses again, he told her what he needed.

"Mmm, I'll need 5 dozen kunai, shuriken and exploding tags, 100 ft of ninja wire, 2 dozen flash tags, and 6 blank scrolls."

His requests were quickly filled out and before long they were ready to head back to the counter to pay for the items. On the way, the two continued to engage in small talk about different things and it was here that Tenten learned that he was in her graduation class but failed due to his inability to produce a Bunshin He also told her that he recently graduated and was waiting to be placed in his genin team along with their sensei.

Naruto on the other hand learned that she had been in a team for almost a year now and was teamed up with a 'stuck-up Hyuuga' and two spandex wearing, Taijutsu freaks. Naruto roared with laughter at her description but was informed that though they were weird they made a great team.

As they neared the counter Tenten's Dad, Iroshi couldn't help but smile when he saw the two teenagers enjoying their time together. It wasn't often that his daughter had the chance to enjoy company since she had so many duties as a kunoichi her time was limited. He almost did a double take when he saw Naruto since he was now decked in full Shinobi attire including the gloves and tape. He would definitely be a heartbreaker in the near future.

"Hey dad, we're done now." Said Tenten as they walked to the counter.

"Yeah, except, I need some armor sewn into the others so they'll be more sturdy. And I also need some shades, ear and nose plugs." Added Naruto.

"Ok." Iroshi said. "That should take about four days to complete. Would you like them delivered or will you pick them up?" he asked.

"I'll pick them up." replied Naruto. "How much does it cost?"

Iroshi thought for a while and before Tenten began to count the total he smiled at Naruto and said

"Consider this a late Birthday present for the Hero of Konoha."

Naruto was stunned. He had rarely been given anything for free in his life, and whenever it was given to him it was to cause some sort of harm, apart from what he received from the Hokage and old man Teuchi. But then he remembered the last statement, _for the Hero of Konoha, _and smiled a genuine smile.

Tenten on the other hand stared open mouthed at her father. Her father never gave something away for free. Not even the Hokage got that privilege. So for him to give away so much to Naruto there must have been something behind it. And what did he mean by the _Hero_ of Konoha?

After saying thank you to the Father and daughter many times, he finally left with everything except the clothing and his orange jumpsuit. Speaking of which, as soon as he removed it Tenten quickly took it and burned it faster than he could react and waved him a victory sign. Finally the Orange monstrosity was destroyed, although there were three identical sets at his home but alas, they would meet a similar fate.

While leaving the failed to see the smile located on Iroshi's lips as he stared at his back.

"One day," he said lightly to himself, "One day you'll show them all." Although it was spoken to himself it didn't stop his daughter from hearing which only served to increase her curiosity in regards to the blonde, blue eyed Shinobi

As he was walking home he sighed as he remembered that he had to take his Ninja ID today. About to quicken his pace he thought of something and quickly dropped his packages and made a _Kage Bunshin_ and told it what to do. With a cry of _Ossu_ it grabbed the packages and made its way to the house. The real Naruto in the meantime continued walking to the Hokage tower to remove his picture for his ID.

On the way, he failed to notice that the usual glares that he received were not as many. There were actually some looks of surprise, awe and was that a young girl drooling while staring at him?

Yes Naruto Uzumaki was oblivious to all of the mixed attention that he was getting from the villagers.

After Naruto removed his picture he was heading to see the Hokage when he suddenly stopped mid-step. He thought '_how come I remember going home and placing my supplies there while I was getting my ID set up? Wait, it this what Hikari spoke of about getting another ability of the Kage Bunshin? Hmm, I'm gonna have to experiment a bit.'_

So he continued his path to the Hokage where he was let through with no difficulty which he found to be strange because the Chuunin guards usually tried to stop him from entering. '_Strange'_ he thought. As he entered the Hokage's Offices he said

"Ohayou Oji-san, how's the paperwork?"

Hearing the familiar voice, the Hokage looked up from his desk and almost dropped his pipe that was hanging from his mouth. He couldn't believe that Naruto was actually the person standing in front of him. He was tempted to try to dispel the Genjutsu if it was one but refrained.

"Come on Old man, are you so old that you can't even see that it me? Or are you so struck by my mighty awesomeness that you want to make me Hokage in you place" said Naruto with a goofy grin on his face while heading over to sit on one of the chairs.

Any doubts that the Hokage had instantly vanished for only Naruto could sound so disrespectfully respectful at the same time. The Hokage quickly gathered his wits and said "I take it you found my note?"

"Yeah Oji-san, but I don't need any help right now," he replied.

"Ok, so why are you here?" he asked.

"To inform you of some vital information," said Naruto.

Sarutobi perked up at this. What information could Naruto have that could be vital? Unless it was related to the Kyuubi, but he couldn't contact it. Right?

"It's about Hikari." He began. At Sarutobi's raised eyebrows he elaborated, "The Kyuubi."

The Hokage was barely containing his surprise now. He had thought that Naruto would not be able to contact the Kyuubi for some time but apparently, he could communicate with it, and what's this about him calling the Kyuubi Hikari?

And so for the next hour and a half, Naruto explained to the Hokage all that he and Hikari had spoken of. At the end, the Hokage was mystified. That thrice damned clan was once again responsible for a disaster in Konoha. He informed Naruto that the information that he had just revealed to him would be kept as an S-Class secret and that he should not share that information with anyone. He also informed him that he would be paid for a B-class Mission for exposing a traitor the previous night, though the details also had to be kept a secret.

It was at that moment that Naruto asked the Sandaime for some information about shadow clones and was elated to find out that his observations were correct. _'Oh the possibilities with this ability,'_ he thought. Oh yes Naruto was definitely going to put the _Kage Bunshin _to good use. After some small talk on how he was doing and if he was eating right, the Sandaime released him and he headed home, but not before making his daily stop at the Ichiraku ramen stand.

Naruto entered his home feeling energized as he had just come from the Ichiraku ramen stand and eaten his fill. Right now he was focused on reading the two scrolls that he had acquired the night before. Eagerly, he reached for them and found them on the shelf that he left them earlier that day. He sighed as he thought of which one to open first. '_Hmm, should I go for the techniques or the nameless scroll? I think I'll go for the nameless scroll._' With that in mind, he reached for it but was stopped as Hikari made her presence known to him.

"**I don't think that you should open that scroll first young one. Learn the techniques and when you are proficient enough with them, open the other" **_**'not to mention the information inside there may be a bit too stressful to deal with right now.'**_

'_Sure think Hikari' _Said Naruto.

With that in mind he grabbed the technique scroll and headed to one of the more abandoned training grounds on the edge of the village. After all, none of the villagers would want to know that the demon brat was getting stronger to 'kill' them.

As he sat down in training ground 37, he opened the scroll and reread the techniques that he had copied down. '_Mm let's start with Kunai Kage Bunshin'_ he thought.

So he trained for about two hours before he eventually got the hang of it. After all, having already mastered the _Kage Bunshin no Jutsu_ gave him an idea of what was needed to be done. After practicing the _Kunai Kage Bunshin_ for some more time, he moved on to the _Shuriken Kage Bunshin no Jutsu._ This one was even easier to him as he went on none stop for another two hours until he finally began to feel his Chakra going low. '_Better get home,_' he thought as he watched the sun begin to hide below the horizon.

On his way home he took to the rooftops and reached quickly. He immediately took a bath and had a light dinner of 5 cups of instant ramen. In his mind, Hikari grumbled _'__**I should get him to start eating something other than ramen. That stuff seriously stunts his growth.'**_

After cooling out for some time he contemplated going to bed but decided that he should read the other scroll that he got the night he beat up Mizuki and graduated from the Academy. He grabbed it and thought for a moment, '_I wonder what's in there? Maybe something that Oji-san has for me. Hmm, I'll tell him about it tomorrow.'_ He decided.

Within his mind, Hikari was beginning to panic. '_**What if he can't deal with what is written in that scroll? What will I do if he wants revenge? Kami-sama I hope all is well.'**_

Looking at the scroll another time, he noticed that there was yet another blood seal, so he did what was necessary and the scroll glowed a light blue before opening. As he began to unroll the scroll his hands began to fumble in excitement and anticipation. Finally getting it free he began reading.

_Dear son,_

_How are you? I hope you're fine and in good health._

_I write this letter with a heavy heart because of the situations surrounding it. Right now, we are one seven hours away from impending doom. Our sources have informed us that the Kyuubi is currently wreaking havoc and is heading towards our village in a blind rage. As to what it is angry about we have no idea but I do know that it is usually a creature of gentleness and protected our village sometimes. However, we do know that if something is not done, nothing will be left of the village. It is in that regard that I have a heavy heart, because this battle with the Kyuubi will be my last._

_When the Kyuubi approaches us I will attempt to seal it into a new born child, and if you have not been able to piece it together, that new born child was you and I am the Fourth Hokage. Why you may ask? The only thing strong enough, living or otherwise that is able to hold back a being of such power is a new born child whose chakra coils have yet to be developed. That is why I choose you. Even if there were other available children, what kind of Hokage would I be if I was unable to use my own child but could use someone else's?_

_If you have lived a terrible life, then I am sorry. Though I wished that you would be hailed as a hero in the village, I am very realistic and know that you will not be hailed as such. I only find solace in the fact that the Sandaime will keep you alive, but may be limited, due to the interference of the civilian council._

_I asked Sarutobi that you heritage be kept a secret from you until he deemed you ready, willing and able to face the truth. Not even the council knows of your parentage, though my teammates may be able to piece it together. I also want you to refrain from taking on the Namikaze name until you are able to hold out against my Jounin instructor at full power for at least one hour. His name is Jaraiya and he's one of the Sannin._

_I want you to know Naruto that both your mother and I love you very much, and would fight death if it was possible to be with you. However we are unable to because I died sealing the Kyuubi into you and your Mother died during shortly after giving birth to you. Don't you dare think for a moment that you caused our deaths, just remember that though we are gone, you will always have a special place in our hearts._

_Now onto something that has been nine months in the making, our special gift to you; a training schedule designed by your mother and I during her pregnancy sealed below.. Along with this you will also obtain all of our techniques including my famous __**Hiraishin**__. I have also included some things and information that I think might be useful to you. These along with whatever else you pick up along the way will aid you in becoming a great Shinobi Naruto. _

_Do us proud and learn well as you earn your name through the Shinobi world as did your mother and I Konoha's Raging Storm and Konoha's Yellow Flash._

_Live life to the fullest son and make us proud._

_Your Loving Parents_

_Minato Namikaze and Kushina Uzumaki Namikaze_

_p.s._

_If you ever need any help with anything looked for one of my students named Hatake Kakashi and show him one of the __**Hiraishin**__ Kunai that I made for you._

Naruto, just stared at the letter blankly for a long while before simply folding it back up, sealing it and placing it on a shelf. Afterwards he sat on a chair and broke down. All the pent up emotions that he had hidden with his smiles, all the pain and grief that he had been exposed to at an early age and later on in life, he simply let the tears flow freely. Finally, he had found out who his parents were only to be informed that they were dead.

'_At least, they loved me'_ he thought '_they didn't abandon me like I always thought but really loved me even in their death. I love you too tou-san, kaa-san, even if you may not be able to hear me, I love you and will do all I can to make you proud of me. Starting right now I'm turning over a new leaf. NO longer will I just be an idiot that everyone hates and despises, I'll be the one they look up to. It's a promise tou-san, kaa-san, and I never go back on my words. I love you.'_

It was with these final thoughts that Naruto finally gave way to blissful unconsciousness as he fell limply unto his bed.

Hikari had been observing Naruto from within the confines of his mind as was astounded by the level headedness he displayed. If she had to describe it, she would say that she was proud of him.

'_**Sleep well young one, for tomorrow holds much in store for you.'**_

And that a wrap!

Wow, …. didn't think he had it in him

Jutsu Translations

_Kage Bunshin no Jutsu – _Shadow Clone Technique

_Shuriken Kage Bunshin – _Shuriken Shadow Clone Technique

_Kunai Kage Bunshin – _Kunai Shadow Clone Technique

_Bunshin Bakuha – _Great Clone Explosion

_Hiraishin – _Flying Thunder God Technique

Please read and review everyone. Your Views are all welcomed.


	4. Chapter 4

The Yellow Maelstrom

Summary

Shortly after failing the graduation exam, Naruto steals the forbidden scroll and finds a scroll addressed to him inside. Armed with it, he will strive to become the best as his heritage is revealed to him and he rocks the Shinobi world as a force to be reckoned with.

Remember, I don't own Naruto.

Thanks for the attention I get lonely sometimes and I enjoyed reading Stigma's reviews its been a while since I found a flamer that amused me. On a side note my Japanese is improving. Anyway don't forget to review people.

"Normal Speech"

'_Thoughts'_

"**Kyuubi Influenced Naruto or Kyuubi"**

'_**Kyuubi Thoughts'**_

_+Flashback+_

_Jutsus being used/ reading letter, note_

* * *

Training Begins

Naruto had just awoken, he stretched while sitting up on his bed and was about to do his morning routine when Hikari called to him. In response, he found himself within the confines of the cage that kept her.

"**Hello Naruto. Slept well?"** She asked.

"Yea, like a rock," he replied. "But enough of that, why'd you call so early in the morning? It's barely five in the morning." He said while yawning.

"**I called you here because it's time for your training."**

At this, his heard perked up and his interest was peaked.

"**You remember the suppression seals that I told you have been placed on you?" **she asked. At this, he nodded. "**I will be removing them while you are here, all four of them. This is because the amount of pain will be high and you do not feel any pain while in your mindscape."**

Naruto's mouth made an invisible 'O' after hearing this.

"**I also wanted to inform you that I saw what you read last night and heard your thoughts. And yes, I can read your thoughts. I am fully committed to aiding you on that journey and will do all in my power to see you succeed." **

After that statement, Naruto stood beaming with pride as he listened to Hikari.

"**After removing the suppression seals, we will be working on getting you familiar with your enhanced senses, all of which I activated the minute you entered here. However, they are not all at their maximum intensity and it is during training that I will be working with you to hone your senses."**

"Really and truly, I don't know what to say Hikari," said a grateful Naruto, "It's almost like my thanks would be nothing compared to what you've done for me. But still, thanks, from the bottom of my heart."

"**No problem. Now it's time to wake up to begin training."**

"Hai Hikari." Said Naruto.

With that Naruto faded from his mindscape and found himself in his apartment. Quickly changing into his new clothing and grabbing some of his purchases from the day before, he stepped outside and made his way to training ground 37.

On the way he started a brief conversation with Hikari.

"So Hikari," he started, "What am I going to be doing today?"

"**Today, you will be training your senses. Now that you mention it, please put on the shades that I requested you buy cause this is gonna sting a bit."**

Doing what was requested; he felt a slight twitch in his eyes and noticed that though he had on shades, he still saw as clear as day.

'_Wow'_ was the one word he could manage at the moment. Still feeling a slight twitch to his eyes, he decided to try focusing on the training ground that he was headed to which was about 300 meters away. While looking he noticed that he could make out minute details such as the distance between the different training posts in the area. To him it was incredible. But the voice of Hikari told him different.

"**That Naruto, is only about half of the full power that is available to you. At full power you will be able to make out details on someone's face from over 50 meters away. With proper practice you will be able to hit a stationary target from over 700 meters and a moving target at 300 meters."**

'_Geez, and all that is attainable through hard work huh. If that's the case then I'm gonna be the best there is because I'll work three times as hard as everyone else!_'

"**Yes Naruto," **said Hikari, **"You will have to work very hard and whenever you slack off, I will be at you to get training."**

"Believe it" shouted Naruto out loud.

Upon arriving at the destination, Hikari once again spoke.

"**Ok Naruto, I want you to remove the shades, since you've had them on for a considerable amount of time."**

He quickly did as she asked and noticed the intensity with which the sun shone. She was right, it would take his lots of time and practice to fully adjust to his new advanced senses.

'_What do you think we should start with Hikari?'_ asked Naruto.

"**Begin with 25 laps around the training area, 100 push ups, sit ups, and squats, 100 punches and 100 kicks. While you are doing this, I will slowly increase your sense of smell and hearing. After you are done repeat till about 12:30 adding 25 more to each of the exercises. Oh, no chakra enhancement"**

'_Ossu'_ stated Naruto with a two finger salute.

And so Naruto's training began with the guidance of Hikari.

For five and a half hours, Naruto went through the routine that Hikari had for him. Tirelessly he worked and at the end he was extremely worn and a loud grumble from his stomach reminded him of the time as he collapsed against a tree.

"**You've done good Naruto. You have one hour to get some lunch, and for Kami's sake get something healthier than ramen."**

Not in a position to do anything but agree, he went into town and made his way to Ichiraku ramen stand. Once there, he ordered a healthy lunch and sat in silence as he ate slowly, too tired to engage Ayame in conversation.

Finishing up his lunch as quickly as possible, he headed back over to the training ground and sat down against a tree for a quick nap mentally asking Hikari to wake him at the appointed time.

Thirty five minutes later he was awakened by Hikari and informed that he should continue his exercise from the morning, and so he continued until he dropped down tired and huffing from lack of air six hours later.

'**You did good today Naruto, now head back home to take a bath and have some dinner, cause frankly, YOU STINK." **

'_**Although I won't say it to you out loud, I'm impressed. To be able to keep up with such a workout! Not to mention the fact that all of his other senses have been increased to fifteen percent of their max and he has yet to complain although it hurt. This must have something to do with his healing factor. But still, with a will like that you will indeed reach far Naruto.'**_

'_Hai' _he replied.

After doing as Hikari had recommended, he sat down on his sofa and looked at the clock. He still had about three hours to kill before going to bed, so he decided to go through the letter left to him by his dad once again.

Going through, he noticed the seal at the bottom near the Namikaze insignia, and thinking it to be like a blood seal poured chakra into it.

Immediately, four different scrolls popped out, each protected with a blood seal. He grabbed the one closest to him which was the smallest and had the kanji for 1 written on it and began reading.

_Hey son, in this scroll has a lot of information that could help you out with training, therefore it would be beneficial if you read it first and left the others for later and deal with them in alphabetical order._

_Outline below is the training schedule that your mother and I set up for you for when you became a genin. This training will hopefully take you about two months to master and afterwards more of the scroll will be revealed to you. Ok, on with the tort-training schedule_

_5am- get up_

_5:15 – 10 laps around Konoha_

_6:00 – Breakfast_

_6:30 – Strength and Stamina training- Pushups, pull-ups, sit ups, squats, kicks and punches – 100 of each increasing every week by twice the amount._

_12:00 – Lunch_

_1:00 – Chakra Control – Tree Climbing, Water Walking, kunai balancing_

_4:00 – Strength and Stamina training- same as above._

_7:00 – Dinner_

_8:30 – Meditation/ Study/ Tactics_

_10:30 – Bed time_

_This is just a guide for you son and you can change it as you see fit. Also, now that you are a genin, you will have missions, so this will leave you less time for training. Just ensure that your training is well rounded and complete in all areas listed above._

_Sealed below, is something that you will be using all of the time, chakra training weights. They are to be place on the hands, legs and waist and act both as weights and a soldier pill, because when you release the weights, the chakra stored in them comes back to you. Use these tools that have been given to you well son as they are necessary to become a great Shinobi. After completing this training, you should go on to the scroll labeled 2 to move on to some of the basics. Also, together with the sealed weights is another scroll informing you of how to perform the chakra control exercises and when you have mastered them. Use them well._

_With Love_

_Your dad_

_Ps. To reseal the scrolls simply place them on top of the sealing scroll and place your hand over them while saying 'fuuin'. I was a seal master._

Reading the end of the scroll he looked around and noted the three other scrolls then looked at the one in his hand and unsealed the weights as well as the other scroll then resealed the items.

He sat up and looked at the time and noticed that it was 9:00 so he decided to try meditation for some time. However, a short time after he began meditating, he began to feel his self being pulled away as if into a semi conscious state. A few moments later, he opened his eyes and noticed that he was once again in his mindscape. He decided to seek Hikari out to find out what was wrong.

"**The problem is that you are accustomed with this place hence as long as you go into a semi conscious or unconscious state you end up here."**

"How can I work around that?" He queried.

"**To avoid that, you will have to try concentrating on something rather than nothing. Try thinking of the wind around you, or your breathing. That usually works." **She replied

He then left his Mindscape, but not before thanking Hikari. On his return, he noted that it was already past 10 pm so he decided to call it quits for the night and lay down to sleep for the night.

At 5am the following morning, he was awakened by the ringing of his alarm clock and slowly got up. He quickly looked at the training schedule that he had copied down and was about to begin before Hikari reminded him of the weights that he should be putting on. Donning them he looked at the manual that accompanied them for instructions.

'_Mm, so to increase the weight, all I need to do is pour chakra into it. That doesn't seem too difficult, but the weight is proportional to the amount of chakra poured in. Hmm, let's see here. It says that I should start of by pouring one percent of my total chakra into each of the bands. It also says that the average weight per band will be shown on the right band and the percentage of chakra on the left. Mm. Well here goes._

With that, he proceeded to carefully pour 1 percent of his chakra into each of the bands and then looked at his left band. It showed 5 and the right showed 10, so in total he was now 50 pounds heavier.

He was then given the okay to proceed on his schedule by Hikari and off he went.

That's how his training went for the next two day's, he followed it strictly and at the end of the first day he could walk half way up a tree before falling back down. When he had questioned Hikari about it she had informed him that even if she had released suppression seals on his chakra control, she had also released the ones on his chakra, therefore he would have to work even harder to get his chakra under control. After finding this out he had thrown himself wholeheartedly into his training. As the day came to a close, he was reminded by Hikari that he had no study material at home, so he made a detour to the library on his way and used a _henge_ to enter, something that he had never thought of before.

As he made his way to the Shinobi section of the library, he found many interesting books on history, weapons and even physics and mathematics. In the end, he borrowed 5 of the seven books that he had removed from the shelves and would have to return them in two weeks time.

'_Perfect,' _he thought, '_just enough time for me to complete them.'_

He quickly made his way home and after having some dinner, he began reading one of the books titled '_Shinobi tactics 101'_ after reading for about half an hour he suddenly thought, '_now would be a great time to test out my Kage Bunshin.'_ So he made four of them and promptly set them on the remaining books that he had.

Two hours later, he had finished the books and dispelled one of the clones. After taking a short amount of time to sort out the information as he received it, he jumped up while screaming out "Yatta, it worked" while doing a goofy dance with one if his clones. He urgently dispelled the remaining clones and was treated to a headache the size of the Hokage Monument. He almost screamed out in pain, but just endured it. A short while later he went to bed for the night.

The second day was almost an exact replica of the first, except this time he got to the top of the tree but could only stay there for a few seconds before falling off. He also returned the books that he borrowed the day before and took five books again. This time he wanted to meditate while his clones handled the studying.

On arriving home, he showered, had dinner, and then set his clone up to studying while he once again tried meditating.

Sitting in the lotus position, the thought back to what Hikari had told him and tried focusing on taking deep, steady breaths of air. To him, the first few minutes passed by without incident, however, in reality over an hour had gone by. A while later he began to feel a calm descend upon him that he had never known before, but before he could stay that way, he was disturbed by a clone suddenly dispersing itself.

When he opened his eyes, he noticed that the other clones were staring at him open-mouthed with their eyes wide. When he asked what happened, one of them just dispelled to give him the information. He was startled to say the least by the information that he received. While he was meditating, a steady stream of chakra was being expelled from his body and it seemed that it had just been hovering over him like a big bonfire. The only reasoning that he could come up with was that his chakra control needed more work, so he decided to work even harder on his control the following day.

He woke up on the third day of his training and quickly went through his early morning exercise before breakfast. After his run he decided to have a chat with Hikari.

'_Hey Hikari,'_

"**Yes?" she asked**

'_Do you have any idea why I don't feel the effects of the weights anymore?'_

"**Your body is simply adjusting"** she replied

'_In that case I guess I better increase them again huh'_

"**Yes" she replied.**

With that said, he began to pump some more chakra into the weights until he felt himself being pushed to the floor. When he looked at the left band he noticed that it showed while the right showed 25.

Finally finishing his breakfast, he continued to do his morning tasks as he headed to training area 37 where he trained until noon. He then headed out to lunch, and ordered take-out. While walking, he ate a quick lunch and was en route to the Higarashi Shinobi store where he was supposed to pick up his clothing today.

On entering he noticed Iroshi at the counter and said

"Konnichiwa, Iroshi-san. How's the store today?"

The older man smiled and said "it's okay so far. I'm guessing that you are here to pick up your order from a couple of days ago?"

"Hai" replied the young man.

"Well then, it's all packed up and ready for delivery." Responded Iroshi.

"Arigatou gozaimasu Iroshi-san," said Naruto with a short bow.

"No Problem Naruto, just ensure when you're Hokage you inform the ninja's that this was where you got your equipment." He said jokingly.

"Believe it!" said Naruto.

With that he picked up his clothing and was about to leave but then turned and said to Iroshi "Iroshi-san, could you say hi to Tenten-san for me please?"

"No Problem son" the man replied with a small smile.

With that, Naruto turned around and headed home to drop off his purchases then went back to training ground 37 to continue his training.

One week had passed since Naruto had picked up his gear from the Higarashi Shinobi store and in his opinion, his training was going great. Already he could see some of the result of his training. After the first week, he could run the ten laps around Konoha with his weights on in less than 45 minutes and he had now increase his strength and stamina workout by four. Chakra control was another area that had seen significant improvement. He had completed the tree climbing exercise on the third day and mastered it on the fourth.

From then he had would make about 50 _Kage Bunshin_ at the start of every training session to train his tree climbing while he moved on to water walking, which he learnt and mastered by the ninth day of training. He used the same method as he did with the tree climbing as he was of the firm conviction that using _Kage Bunshin_ to learn something new other than reading was cheating. And the only reason shy he used it in reading was because he was cheated of his opportunity at the academy in his early years.

His weight training was going well and was now feeding 17 percent of his total chakra into the weights. The weights average out at 40 pounds per piece. In his opinion, one of the best features of the weights was that all it took to disable them was a mental command. It was _Very _effective.

Above all of the others however, his studies were what excelled the most. Having never experienced the wonders of knowledge at a younger age, he threw himself into it and with his photographic memory; his task was just made easier. His meditation also progressed well as he was now able to control his chakra while meditating at an adequate level.

Hikari had not been silent the entire time. Through it all, she encouraged him to do his best and try as hard as he could. To him, her support was invaluable.

All in all, if he had to, he would sum up the last few days as perfect, except for one incident that he would just call plain weird.

_+Flashback+_

_He had been heading home today a little later than usual as he had just increased his weights that morning so his movements were a bit more sluggish. On his way, he decided to take a shortcut that passed through training ground 17. While passing, he heard a voice counting_

_Curious, he walked towards the voice and noticed it was a young male wearing a green body suit that was kicking a training log. Not wanting to disturb, he stood for a while until the young man completed his exercise stopping at 1000._

'_Wow, not even I'm that crazy' thought Naruto._

"_You can come out now," said the teenager._

_Naruto obeyed and looked at the young man. The first thing he noticed was his eyebrows. Had he met him two weeks earlier, that might have been the first thing that he would point out, however, having learnt he approached the situation differently._

"_Gomen, I saw u training and couldn't help but admire your determination. The name's Naruto by the way. Naruto Uzumaki," Said Naruto while extending his hand._

"_I am the beautiful green beast of Konoha, Rock Lee" stated lee over enthusiastically._

_If naruto had thought he was strange at first, he now considered him bizarre._

"_So what bring you here Naruto-kun" asked Lee politely._

"_Oh, I just finished training" replied Naruto_

_Before he got a chance to add anything more Lee stood up with fire burning in his eyes while shouting out "YOSH Gai-Sensei would be so proud of you, to be training to fan your FLAMES OF YOUTH at such an hour of the night. To commemorate this Moment let us run around Konoha's walls 100 times and if we cannot do that let us climb up and down the Hokage Monument 100 times and if we cannot do that then…."_

_At that point Naruto cut him off. "How about we just get to know each other?" he asked_

"_Yosh Naruto-kun your flames of youth burn brightly. Like you said, let us introduce ourselves."_

_+Flashback End+_

And thus began a very… strange, to say the least, friendship. That day, the the two of them exchanged stories and found that they were alike in more ways than one; both of them being the dead last or their respective classes, and both having something to prove to the villagers of konoha. For Lee it was to prove that someone can become a great ninja through the use of Taijutsu only as he could not use chakra, where as for Naruto, it was to not only have the villagers' respect, but to earn it, just like he did with everything else in his life. After that day they would often be seen in the morning doing laps around the village. To Naruto, it was a challenge to catch up to Lee and to Lee it was an opportunity to meet with another person who believed in the true value of hard work and the benefits that it reaped.

Naruto continued working his self to the ground and by the end of the two week period, was on a level that most academy graduates could not compete with. He was very proud of his work. Hikari was also proud of him as she had increased his senses to their full capability during the two week period and the most he ever did was to flinch.

He only hoped that when his parents looked down on him they smiled at him and his achievements. To him, that was more important than anyone else's opinion of him.

* * *

That's all for now folks.

The author wished to highlight the importance of Naruto's parents to him in this chapter. Wow just wow I'm taken back by how popular this is.

Jutsu Translations

_Henge – _Transformation Technique

_Kage Bunshin – _Shadow Clone Technique

Please continue to read and review.


	5. Chapter 5

The Yellow Maelstrom

Summary

Shortly after failing the graduation exam, Naruto steals the forbidden scroll and finds a scroll addressed to him inside. Armed with it, he will strive to become the best as his heritage is revealed to him and he rocks the Shinobi world as a force to be reckoned with.

Remember, I don't own Naruto.

Thanks again to all of you who continue to review and read. Please continue to do so.

"Normal Speech"

'_Thoughts'_

"**Kyuubi Influenced Naruto or Kyuubi"**

'_**Kyuubi Thoughts'**_

_+Flashback+_

_Jutsus being used/ reading letter, note_

* * *

Meeting the Team

The two week waiting period was finally over, and most of the academy graduates were running about doing various things. A shrill ring was heard and the students all headed to the entrance of their classrooms to take roll call.

Iruka had been having a bad day. No, bad would not justice to the situations he had been exposed to over the last few hours. To start things off, he had woken up extremely late as he had been depending on his alarm clock to awaken him since he had been up late last night reviewing and finalizing the teams together with the Hokage. If that had been the end of it he would be okay, but noooo, Kami just had to decide to punish him for all of his bad deeds today. When he went to take a shower, nothing flowed out of the pipe, not even a trickle of water. Kami, he hated it when that happened. So armed with a pipe wrench and screwdriver, he headed to his basement to see what the problem was.

Thirty minutes later, he came back up tired, but happy as the water seemed to be working again. He smiled as he entered the bath for the second time that day, only to find out that the hot water was out when he opened the pipe yet again. So with as much haste as he could, he took a bath and came out teeth chattering like he was trying to send a message in Morse code. He had quickly made his way to the academy to try and avoid disaster, but on arriving he found out that two of the seven teachers were absent. It seemed like today was definitely not a good day for him he decided, as he sat down at his desk in room 201 with both his hands on his head.

This was the scene that many of the Shinobi in training were greeted with, an irritated Iruka at the start of the day, though most of them seemed oblivious to his current state of distress.

Naruto had been in conversation with Hikari during the two week vacation that he had. They had constantly been planning things that he could use for his training and had been working on having him keep his emotions in check better. One look at the 'old Naruto', as they had dubbed him before his transformation, would have given away everything to the world. Now, he schooled his features all of the time. No longer would he be known as the Ramen obsessed, careless and not to mention blonde haired freak. It's not that he was ashamed of his blonde hair, quite the opposite in fact. It was simply because he had reminisced on his life with Hikari and they had come to the conclusion that he used to seek attention in the wrong manner. No longer would he prank people uselessly. He wouldn't stop, mind you, just not without the aim of exposing some weakness to someone.

After seeing what a balanced meal did for him in the first week, he had decided to continue in a similar fashion, and had studied many books detailing different aspects of the culinary arts.

He had also taken up a hobby that he enjoyed with Hikari, playing Shougi in his mindscape. He had been the one to suggest it and had taken to it quite well. After loosing to Hikari 30 – 2, he choose to read up on some more strategy books that were at the library detailing the first and second great Shinobi wars among others to up his skills. The results were instantaneous. Although he didn't win the next game they played, because no amount of studying can make up for thousands of years of experience, he did put up a good fight, and Hikari had to actually apply herself to win. There were even a few times where she was so cornered that they ended up spending more time than anticipated on strategy. At present, the score stood at 48 – 9, an admirable feat that he was proud of. She had suggested that he buy a board and have a game with one of the members of the Nara Clan as they were renowned as some of the best strategists. He readily agreed, knowing their history.

As Naruto made his way to the academy along the rooftops, he thought back to an interesting meeting that he had with the Sandaime earlier that day.

_+Flashback+_

_The Sandaime had summoned him to his office that morning wanting to inquire as to how his training was going. He had quickly given him an explanation of what he had learned, from who was his father, to the training schedule that he was currently following. The Sandaime was shocked by the information and informed him that he should not inform too many people who his parents were because of the number of enemies that he had both inside and outside of Konoha. As he was about to exit the Hokage's office, as voice was heard saying_

"_I've got you now old man, that hat will be mine today." while waving a blunted kunai in the air._

_The Hokage sighed exasperatedly while saying "Konohamaru". This had to be the seventh time this week that he had tried to attack him. It seemed that the attacks were getting worse as of late._

_Five steps away the Hokage's desk, the kid's face was suddenly reintroduced to the floor. He clumsily stood up while brushing himself off and turned too face Naruto while pointing an accusing finger at him and said_

"_You! You're the one who tripped me. Say you're sorry."_

_Naruto looked at him then thought of teaching him a lesson, but decided against it. He simply said "You tripped over your own feet kid," before turning away._

_Konohamaru, not one to usually be denied attention or respect shouted "Hey, don't you know who I am? I'm Konohamaru Sarutobi, the Hokage's grandson. Say you're sorry or face his wrath!"_

_Naruto simply looked him in the eye while sparing a glance at the Hokage before slamming his fist into the kids head lightly and said,_

"_I don't care if you're his grandmother." _

_With that done, he stood up and said "Later Oji-san" while walking away._

_At the door stood Konohamaru's Sensei Ebisu staring open mouthed at what the 'demon brat' had done to the Hokage's grandson. He quickly began apologizing to 'the Honorable Grandson' as he referred to Konohamaru, that the other brat didn't know his place, and that he was his best shortcut to becoming Hokage. While he was talking he failed to notice Konohamaru escape and follow Naruto._

_Afterwards the two had spent some time together having fun until Konohamaru started calling Naruto boss. Not being accustomed to such respect, he simply told him to call him bro instead. _

_They had talked for some more time with Naruto convincing Konohamaru to stop attacking his Grandfather and concentrate on training and also convincing Naruto to teach him the Orioke no Jutsu which they ended up using on Ebisu. Before parting company, the two shared their dreams of becoming Hokage for different reasons and Naruto set Konohamaru on the right path; the one without shortcuts._

_+Flashback End+_

He smiled at the memory and was at the academy in a short amount of time. Quickly slipping through the window, he surveyed the classroom and noticed an empty seat next to Shino which he took. After a quick nod to the bug user, he pulled out a book on seals from his equipment pouch and continued reading. Since finding out the way that his dad stored information for him, he had been highly intrigued by them and had taken to reading up on them. He was currently reading up on the theory of basic seals.

A few minutes passed by with little to no activity until two distinct shouts were heard of

"I Win".

Looking up from his reading he noticed it was Sakura and Ino quarrelling about who arrived first and thus had the right to sit next to Sasuke.

"I got here first Ino Pig" shouted Sakura.

"No way forehead girl, the weight that you've got in that forehead of yours slowed you down." Replied an irate Ino.

"You talking to me piggy," said Sakura with steam coming out of her ears.

"And what if I am, forehead?" replied Ino.

Naruto simply blocked out the rest of their conversation since he was beginning to get irritated. Had it been three weeks ago, he would have probably been pestering Sakura and asking her out on a date. However, it wasn't and having made up for lost time, he now understood that even if Sakura was pretty, from the way she treated him, he was nothing more than a stepping stone for her. Hence the reason he had stopped actively pursuing her, something that Hikari had encouraged since he was focusing on becoming a better Shinobi.

In the end, neither of the girls got the chance to sit next to Sasuke as someone else was already sitting there, something that both of them failed to notice.

A few minutes after the argument, their teacher showed up, greeted them and began roll call.

"Shino Aburame," "Present", "Satoshi Francher" "Present"

The list continued on until he reached the final name

"Naruto Uzumaki,"

Immediately, mumbling broke out in the classroom as many of them wondered what Naruto's name was doing on the list, but before any of them could question their sensei, a voice spoke up from the back

"Present".

At this, most of the students turned back to find the source of the voice and saw someone decked in a black ANBU style pants, a dark red muscle shirt with a fishnet shirt over it as well as bandage wrappings going down from his legs to a pair of black ninja sandals. He also had a pair of fingerless gloves with the leaf insignia engraved near the knuckles. His Hiate-ate was place on his forehead and stopped his blonde locks from covering his face as they stuck out at odd angles. To complete his look, a small smiled graced his lips as Naruto stared at the rest of the class openly gaping at him, a few of the girls even blushed after looking at him for some time.

None of them however compared to Iruka as he stared eyes wide and mouth open at the transformed Naruto. The clipboard that he had in his hand had long since fallen to the floor when he saw Naruto. After composing himself, he couldn't help but smile warmly towards his favourite student as he picked up his clipboard and marked Naruto as present. Before he could continue on with his class, Sakura raised her hand and asked a question that had been on her mind for some time now.

"Ne Iruka-Sensei," she began, "How come that idiot Naruto is here right now? I thought this class was for graduates only." She said, voicing the general opinion of most of her classmates.

Iruka glared at her and replied "He is here because he passed an alternate graduation exam that was considerably harder than the normal one. It would do you good to remember that." He finished off with a smile as he remembered the way that Naruto stood up for him.

"Continuing on," he said "You all are now Shinobi, and as Shinobi, you are to protect your village and teammates to the best of your ability. The will of fire that our village is teaches so much about is burning brightly in each of you, and you should never allow that fire to die. As you go into the world doing various missions for the village, you should be proud of whom you represent, The Hidden Leaf Village. Though at times they may be more than you can bear and the struggles may prove difficult, wear your Hiate-ate's proudly as you show the world the power of The Hidden Leaf. Remember, though the tree that is Konoha may grow old, its roots will always be there as you are right now and like a Phoenix will rise up from the ashes, stronger than ever before."

At the end, not a single student was asleep, or inattentive. They had never thought that their sensei could say anything with such a passion. The sensation that they felt was exhilarating. Even the Jounin senseis at the Hokage Tower, who had been looking at their prospective students, were stunned by the speech that Iruka had given.

"Now for the team assignments," said Iruka. "Though you may not know, during your time as Genin, you will be placed on three man teams. The people that you are teamed up with as genin may remain with you until you become Jounin and even after. Hence it is good for you to have great relationships with your teammates. Moving along, team one consist of Satoshi Francher, Brangle Phineas, and Kayla John. Your Jounin sensei will be Hayate Gekkou. Team two…"

This continued until he reached team seven.

"Team seven, Sakura Haruno, Sasuke Uchiha, and Naruto Uzumaki under Kakashi Hatake. Team Eight, Kiba Inuzuka, Hinata Hyuuga, and Shino Aburame under Kurenai Yuuhi. Team nine is still in circulation from last year. Team ten, Ino Yamanaka, Shikamaru Nara, and Chougi Akimichi under Sarutobi Asuma." Finally finished with the team assignment he placed his pad on the table then added

"Please wait here for your Jounin sensei's as they will pick you up."

With that he promptly sat down and like the students waited for the Jounin.

They didn't have to wait very long as some of the Jounin senseis were already on their way.

Time passed and different teams went away with their senseis. During that time, Naruto was having a conversation with Hikari about their Sensei.

'_Do you really think it's him'_ asked Naruto

"**Yes," **replied Hikari.

'_Well if that's the case, I guess I better show him one of my dad's famous kunai don't you think?'_

"**You could"** said Hikari, "**but I would recommend waiting for some time to see how he acts before knowing who you are."**

'_Couldn't I give him just a little hint? I mean, if he was my dad's student then he would surely know how to keep a secret. Not to mention the fact that I could use some more pointers in my training.' _Said Naruto.

"**It's your choice Naruto, although that does sound like a good plan" she replied.**

'_Ok' _said Naruto then closed off the mental connection. As he did, he noticed that his team was the only one left in the classroom. Even Iruka-sensei had left about an hour ago. When he looked up at the clock on the wall he noticed that they had been waiting for almost three hours and the Jounin had yet to arrive.

'_Is this the best that my sensei can do?' _He thought to himself. At that moment, a head poked through the door with gravity defying silver hair and a facemask covering more than half of his face peered in. he also had his Hiate-ate at an odd angle covering his left eye. At first glance, his whole visage screamed lazy but on looking again, Naruto noticed that not only was he alert but he seemed to be ready to move at a moment's notice.

Kakashi then said "My first impression of you is ….. You're useless."

All of them sweat dropped after that statement and if you looked closely you could see the tick developing on Sakura's forehead.

Naruto's gaze wasn't lost on Kakashi and when he felt his eye on him he looked up and stared. Only years of battle honed reflexes didn't cause him to react to what he saw, in his opinion, as a miniature version of the Yondaime Hokage. He was surprised to say the least. He always knew that Naruto was the container for the Nine Tailed Fox but to be related to his Sensei? That was one possibility that never crossed his mind. True there was the blonde hair and blue eyes but to him that's where the similarities stopped, at least that's what he used to think. Now staring at Naruto he saw a few more similarities like the way he looked when he smiled, or the grin that was on his face whenever he pulled a successful prank.

He quickly put those thoughts to the back of his mind as he concentrated on the task at hand, getting to know the team that would most likely be back in the academy in the next 48 hours. After all, he had never passed a single team, so why would he start now. He was broken from his thoughts by Sakura Screaming out

"YOU'RE LATE!" with enough force to break a window.

Naruto and Kakashi having expected something like this had wisely blocked their ears beforehand. Sasuke was not so fortunate. He had to deal with the full brunt of the voice and was now holding his ears while glaring at Sakura.

"Gomen, but you see, a black cat crossed my path so I had to take the long way around town." Replied Kakashi.

All three of the students stared at him incredulously while Sakura screamed out "LIAR".

Any way, meet me on the roof in five minutes." Said the cyclopean ninja while he Shunshined to the roof. With that, the three made their way to the roof to meet their Sensei.

When they arrived, they saw their sensei leaning on the railing while reading some sort of book. He turned to them and said,

"Alright team seven, how about we introduce ourselves to each other. You know,name, likes, dislikes, hobbies, dreams for the future." With that he gestured to Sakura for her to start the introductions.

"Ano sensei, why don't you go first so that you can show us how its done." She asked

"Whatever," he replied. "My name is Kakashi Hatake, I like and dislike a lot of things, I have a lot of hobbies, dreams for the future, hmm."

After his introduction they only stared at him like he grew a second head.

"Now you Pinky" he said while pointing to Sakura.

"My name is Sakura Haruno. The thing I like or rather the person I like is…" giggling was heard from her while she peaked at Sasuke. "My hobbies…" again she looked at Sasuke and giggled. "Dreams for the future…" at this she looked at Sasuke starry eyed while blushing furiously.

"What do you dislike?" asked their sensei.

"Ino Pig and NARUTO!" she shouted but at that moment she noticed that not once during the day had Naruto even greeted her or approached her for a date. At that realization she glanced at him while he stared blankly at her as if she hadn't even mentioned his name.

She felt ….. different from his stare and wanted to wish that the old Naruto was still there.

"You next sunshine" said Kakashi as he pointed to Sasuke who only Hn'd.

"My Name is Sasuke Uchiha" he began, "I have few like and even less hobbies as well as a lot of dislikes. My dream, no, more of an ambition is to avenge my clan by killing a certain man then to resurrect it."

During the introduction, Sakura had been staring at Sasuke starry eyed again and was thinking _'Sasuke-kun is so cool. I wonder if he'll go out on a date with me.'_

Kakashi however was thinking more along the line of '_so that's the one that Itachi left alive. I hope he doesn't go all crazy on me.' _Naruto was thinking of whether or not he could actually work effectively in a team with these two people, as one seemed to be a fan girl whilst the other seemed to be very power hungry.

When his turn came up he said "Naruto '_Namikaze' _Uzumaki's the name, remember it. My likes are training, learning new things, reading and ramen, my dislikes are people who can't see some thing for what it is but what they perceive it to be, as well as anyone who doesn't see the true value of hard work, my hobbies include pulling pranks, training and sealing. As for my dreams,"

At this, he looked up to the sky then faced the Hokage Mountain and said "To gain the respect of all of the village, both civilian and Shinobi alike by becoming a Shinobi and one day Hokage and to make my parents proud of me." He finished of with a content smile and peaceful expression on his face as a light breeze blew across the rooftop causing his hair to shift position while he stood his ground.

All three of the others present were amazed by his introduction. It was almost as if a calm aura surrounded him while he subconsciously spread it out to them giving them that wonderful feeling.

Alas, it was not to last as Sakura perked up and voiced her opinion.

"How can you make your parents proud if you're an orphan baka, it's not like they're even there to see you. You're such a dobe. No wonder they left." She finished quite content with herself.

Kakashi was taken aback by his students' behavior and was about to comment but Naruto beat him to the punch.

"Haruno-san," he began "I would suggest that you not make reference to my parents again, or that may well be your undoing." He finished of in a cold emotionless voice laced with a small amount of killing intent that seemed to frighten her. Sasuke was also shocked by the turn of events. First, Sakura had insulted Naruto's dream and to add fuel to the fire blatantly insulted his parents! Now that was uncalled for.

Kakashi looked on in anger. Here he was getting ready to drop the bomb on his new team about only 66 percent of them actually becoming genin but one of them just had to spoil the mood. He had to admit, had he been in Naruto's situation, he would probably have to be restrained from impaling her with a _Raikiri_. He hastily reprimanded Sakura and continued on with analyzing his students. Thinking of it, he looked over at Naruto and noticed that he seemed to be the calmest of the three males, which surprised him considering the fact that he should be the angry one, and if academy reports were anything to go by he should have been jumping around angrily. Kakashi decided right there that he would disregard any reports that he obtained as they were most likely false or outdated. Glancing at him a second time, he managed to notice the tightly guarded anger in his eyes and mentally applauded the boy for such an accomplishment.

To Sakura, it was strange, all she had done was repeat what her mother had told her and they were all angry at her? She had always told her that Naruto would never amount to anything and his parents had abandoned him as a result, that his mere existence was a disgrace to the people of Konoha so he was an outcast. Was she wrong? Her mother was a member of the Civilian Council of Konoha, so whatever she said was right, right? And what was that feeling that she had gotten when naruto looked at her with those cold blue eyes, like she should escape if she wanted to survive. Strange.

Unknown to her, she was currently a member of a team where all of the males knew what it was like to be an orphan, so speaking to Naruto in such a way struck deep down into the other two.

Before the mood could get any worse than it already was Kakashi stood up and cleared his throat to catch their attention.

"Well, now that everything is under control let continue. Now that you have been assigned a team, we will be meeting tomorrow for a special bonding activity that only the four of us will be taking part in; survival training" said Kakashi.

"Survival training?" repeated Sakura.

"Yes, this test will determine whether or not you become true genin or will be sent back to the academy."

Kakashi could hardly hold back his smile as he saw the shocked looks on Sakura's and Sasuke's faces. Naruto however just looked on with an interested expression. So he continued.

"You see, out of the ten genin teams, only 3 of them will move on to be genin. This test has a 66 percent failure rate and all failures will be sent back to the academy. So you will have to meet me tomorrow at training ground seven at 7 a.m. to undergo your test."

With that he was about to leave but turned back and said,

"Oh, and if I were you, I wouldn't eat breakfast unless you want to throw up."

He then turned around then waved good bye before vanishing in a swirl of leaves.

The rest of the team stayed put for a while before Naruto stood up and said

"Uchiha-san, Haruno-san, you would do well to disregard his advice on eating breakfast."

With that said, he turned and walked away to his usual training area.

Sakura quickly turned to Sasuke and said

"Sasuke-kun, would you like-"

She was immediately cut off by Sasuke cutting her off by saying

"If I ever hear you disrespect Naruto in such a way again, I will personally deal with you. You know nothing of living half your life as an orphan, much less your entire life. You grew up with both your parents yet you disrespect someone else's. What would you do if you were in his position huh? Tell me." Sasuke didn't know what caused him to loose his cool like that, but in his opinion, she deserved it, especially when he thought of that one time after he had lost his family. He was all alone sitting at the pier when Naruto passed by. He was very downcast that day but when he saw Naruto, no words were exchanged, but his mood lifted gradually. It was like there was that unspoken bond between them that they developed. Almost like brothers, they would try to out do the other and be at each others necks just for the fun of it. And to see Sakura make fun of Naruto in such a way made him bristle with rage, especially when he was an orphan too.

"You should think before speaking Sakura, it'll help us in the long run."

With that said he turned away and walked home.

Kakashi stood in the trees nearby listening to his new team talk amongst themselves.

'_Maybe,'_ he thought '_Maybe they will be the first team to pass my test'._

With that thought, he left the area with a quick _Shunshin_.

* * *

Well Folks, that's all for now

To those that think that too much Sakura bashing is going on the author was in fact teaching a lesson to her that she would always have to learn. That said character bashing will die off next chapter.

Anyway have a nice day.

Jutsu Translations

_Raikiri – _Lightening Edge

_Shunshin no Jutsu – _Body Flicker Technique

Read and Review.


	6. Chapter 6

The Yellow Maelstrom

Summary

Shortly after failing the graduation exam, Naruto steals the forbidden scroll and finds a scroll addressed to him inside. Armed with it, he will strive to become the best as his heritage is revealed to him and he rocks the Shinobi world as a force to be reckoned with.

Remember, I don't own Naruto.

Thanks again to all of you who continue to review and read. Please continue to do so.

"Normal Speech"

'_Thoughts'_

"**Kyuubi Influenced Naruto or Kyuubi"**

'_**Kyuubi Thoughts'**_

_+Flashback+_

_Jutsus being used/ reading letter, note_

* * *

Team 7

Naruto woke up a little earlier than usual to do his morning exercises which he had been increasing steadily. Upon completion, he had a healthy breakfast then started to training ground 7.

As Naruto made his way to Training ground 7, he thought of his team, or what would be his team if they passed their Sensei's test.

'_Sasuke is a very capable Shinobi and can hold his own against all of our classmates seeing as he was the rookie of the year of our class. Sakura on the other had…is an almost hopeless case unless she gets rid of that fangirl mentality. As far as I could tell, she has about 30 times less chakra than me and 7 times less than Sasuke. The books and scrolls that I read from the library say that persons like this have the potential to become very efficient medic-nin since they often have a high level of chakra control. Guess I'll tell that to Kakashi- Sensei sometime later on.'_

He stopped his trend of thought when he arrived at the designated training ground ten minutes before the appointed time. While waiting for his teammates to arrive, he entered a light meditative stance and began conversing with Hikari.

'_Oi Hikari, you there?_

"**Where else would I be?" **she responded in an amused tone.

'_Uh... Well I was thinking, do you think that using one of my dad's Kunai today would be a good idea? I mean I hardly know the guy.'_

"**There's only one way to know Naruto, and that is to test him. So during that test of yours, just check his reaction to you when he notices the kunai."**

'_Ok Hikari, thanks for the advice'_

"**No Problem Naruto".**

With that he stopped meditating and opened his eyes to find his two teammates, Sakura and Sasuke staring at him. Quickly checking the time, he noticed that it was the scheduled time for their team meeting.

"Haruno-san, Uchiha-san," he said

"Hn," replied Sasuke while Sakura waved a bit put out that Naruto addressed them by their surnames.

"Would you like to join me while I do some training," he asked "it seems that our sensei may be late, if yesterday was any indication".

The two other didn't reply so he left them and went over to a clearing and created about 10 clones. He then ordered them to practice the Kunai Balancing exercise to further refine his chakra control having mastered both tree and water walking to a sufficient degree. While the clones were practicing chakra control, he approached a nearby tree and began a series of kicks and punches with each leg and hand in intervals of 200.

Unknown to him both his teammates were looking at him and were amazed that the dead last of their class was actually training. Although they had seen his new clothing, they just thought it was a fluke and began a revaluation of their teammate. Neither of them however took up his offer for training with him.

This was the scene that Kakashi was greeted with as he suddenly poofed into the clearing two and a half hours later with his regular reading material in hand; Icha Icha Paradise.

"Yo" he said.

Without warning, Sakura turned towards him and screamed out "YOU'RE LATE!"

Kakashi had to stick his pinky into his ear to clear his auditory canal.

"Well you see, a black cat crossed my path so I had to take the long way to the training ground," replied a near deaf Kakashi.

"LIAR!" shouted Sakura while Sasuke settled for a death glare to their sensei. Naruto on the other hand simply dispelled his shadow clones.

The training that Naruto had been doing was not lost on Kakashi as he had seen him training from the moment he entered the clearing.

'_So it seems that he learned the secret of the Kage Bunshin, something that not even I can use to the fullest' _thought Kakashi with a smile.

When Naruto finally arrived, Kakashi began the explanation of their 'Survival Training'.

"OK team," he began "Today we will be doing a test that will determine whether or not you become genin."

At this Sakura and Sasuke visibly stiffened while Naruto's looked on, after all, he had been expecting this for the wealth of knowledge he acquired.

"In my hand I have two bells. Now, you are going to try to take these bells by any means necessary. Come at me with the intent to kill, or you won't make it. Whoever does not have a bell by noon will not have any lunch… and will be sent back to the academy." He finished with a grave voice.

Kakashi then removed an Alarm clock and set it for noon, then placed it on a tree stump.

After soaking in every thing Sakura spoke up

"But sensei, there are only two bells and won't we hurt you?"

"Yes Sakura," he replied "at least one of you will be sent back to the academy. But I doubt you could even touch me."

Sakura and Sasuke paled while Naruto's eyes were closed tightly as if in deep concentration.

With that said, Kakashi said "When I say GO, you will begin."

As soon as he completed that statement, a kunai flew towards him at an incredible speed but he simply caught it as if it was nothing.

"Naruto, I didn't say GO." With that he shouted "GO"

Immediately, all three of the students immediately vanished from the clearing leaving Kakashi to his own devices. He quickly pulled out his favoured reading material and walked into the tree shaded area while jingling the bell.

In another part of the forest, Naruto stood on a branch while silently processing all of the information that he had at his disposal.

'_Ok, lets see, there are only two bells and he wants us to try and get one, while whoever gets a bell passes while the one who doesn't fails and goes back to the academy. Hmm, something's not right. Through out all of my studies, teams were always made up of at least four members; the team leader and his three subordinates. I also found out that Konoha is basically founded on teamwork, so why does sensei say that we one of us will fail? Unless, but of course. I've got to find the others.'_ Thought Naruto

With that in mind he made one _Kage Bunshin_ and the two headed to Sakura and Sasuke.

Meanwhile Sasuke had been thinking of the test and thought, _'No matter what, it might be better if I take both bells and have Kakashi-sensei all to myself. I'll be one step closer to killing my brother and avenging my clan!'_

He was about to head out but stopped short when Naruto appeared next to him and began speaking

"Uchiha-san, it would be best if we try working together to get the bells from Kakashi-sensei. We are teammates after all."

Sasuke simply turned his head away from Naruto in an arrogant matter and said with an air of finality

"As if me, an Uchiha would work with a dead last like you. Just don't get in my way idiot."

With that he turned around and headed towards Kakashi, not sparing Naruto a second glance. IT was at that moment that his clone dispelled itself and he found Sakura's response to his proposal

"_Haruno-san, we should team up and meet with Uchiha-san to work together to try and take the bells from our sensei" said clone Naruto._

"_Why would I work with a baka like you when Sasuke-kun can do it by himself?" Asked Sakura._

"_If that's the case, then how will you get a bell?" asked Naruto._

_Realization dawned on her and she darted away while saying that she shouldn't be spending time with a dead last while her Sasuke-kun had the bells. Clone Naruto just shook its head and dispelled._

Which brings Naruto to the situation that he is in right now, He could have simply left them to their selves and work alone thereby saving some time. But he didn't and lost valuable time.

'_Well,' _He thought to his self '_At least I tried. Now to find Kakashi-Sensei'_

With that, he blurred from the area he was and began setting a few traps in an area. Once finished, he headed to where Kakashi was walking about idly.

"Well" began Kakashi, "It seems like you would like to finish what your teammates started?"

Naruto simply sighed and took a basic stance while monitoring Kakashi.

"Lesson One; Taijutsu" said Kakashi.

As soon as he finished saying that, he slowly reached into his equipment pouch and searched for something. In the meantime, Naruto, though calm on the outside was frantic as he thought

'_I thought he said Taijutsu, so what is he doing going for a weapon' _

His thoughts were interrupted when his sensei's hand came from his pouch revealing an oddly familiar orange booked labelled 'Icha Icha Paradise'. Naruto's face turned white, before contorting into a scowl. His sensei wasn't even taking him seriously! He lifted a hand and pointed his finger at Kakashi and said

"Kakashi-sensei, is it wise to be reading in the middle of a fight?"

"Against you, it won't be a problem" he said dismissively.

"What ever you say… Ero-sensei" replied Naruto with a smirk.

The only response he got from Kakashi was a small fit of giggles. Quickly taking advantage of the 'distraction', he rushed Kakashi and attempted to punch him in the chest, only to miss as he dodged lazily while reading his book. Naruto continued on with a flurry of kicks and punches, but failed to land a single hit. Kakashi on the other had was quite impressed with Naruto's speed.

Naruto was quickly growing frustrated and when he caught on to what Kakashi was doing he took a few deep breaths to calm himself down. Analyzing the situation, he noticed that there was almost no chance of him getting one of the bells without distracting Kakashi further so he slowly dragged him to the area where his traps were set.

As soon as they entered the clearing, he jumped back and performed a quick flip while sending a kunai near one of the bushes. Immediately a volley of kunai flew towards Kakashi who did a back flip to escape, but landed right where Naruto wanted him. As soon as he landed, another barrage of weapons was on him and did a quick _Kawarimi _to escape.

'_Nice' _Thought Kakashi as he saw what Naruto had been planning all along. _'But not good enough' _as he headed to when Naruto was with a kunai in hand, his Icha Icha Long since forgotten. As he entered the area, he saw Naruto turn around slowly before trying to get away, but the kunai was quicker and pierced his knee and left him dragging himself along the floor. He turned and faced Kakashi and Held unto him. When he latched unto him he only said one word

"Boom"

Kakashi's visible eye widened when he heard that word as well as the telltale signs of an exploding tag being detonated. A quick _Shunshin_ was what saved him. As soon as he landed, a volley of shuriken once again headed his way and this time, he pushed Chakra in his legs and jumped to avoid it. Once in the air he thought

'_Ok, I'm home free' _only to change that opinion when he heard a grunt from above. Quickly turning around, he saw Naruto with a smile on his face as he sent a kunai towards him while running through a few hand seals and shouting _Kunai Kage Bunshin no Jutsu._

Once again, Kakashi was at a loss for words. His blond haired student had surprised him yet again by thinking not only steps ahead, but luring him into a trap that he had fallen for. Quite a feat considering who he was.

Once Kakashi landed, he began deflecting kunai as quickly as he could while his student landed with grace that would be associated with an angel. Upon further inspection, Kakashi's eye widened and his eyebrow rose. His mouth was also hanging open in shock but could not be seen because of his mask. The kunai's that were on the floor were none other than the three pronged kunais that his sensei the Yondaime used for his famous _Hiraishin no Jutsu_! How had Naruto come across them? And did he learn the _Hiraishin?_

While these questions were running through Kakashi's mind, Naruto was busy executing his next move with a smile on his face. He quickly called out the name of his next move and this caused Kakashi to pale when he heard it.

"_Hiraishin no Jutsu"_ he shouted. While mentally he said '_Chakra weights KAI'._ He suddenly felt a heck of a lot lighter. He had increased his weights recently as was still getting used to them although the chakra storage was now at 20 percent. Naruto was actually bluffing here there was no way he could use the _Hiraishin, _he did try but he didn't get anywhere and ended up knocking himself out so decided to focus on his other training. But its not like Kakashi knew this and he'd achieved what he planed

Under normal circumstances, the sudden rush of chakra would have alerted Kakashi that something was up and he would have been able to put up a defence. However, after seeing his sensei's kunai, and hearing a 12 year old kid shout out the name of his famous _Hiraishin,_ almost all of his senses were dulled and he was like a sitting duck.

Naruto, taking advantage of Kakashi's lapse in concentration alerted three of his _Kage Bunshin_ that the main part of their plan was now in effect and the four quickly dashed off, one appeared behind him and the adult felt a hand brush up against him. The Jounin was startled to say the least he'd been fooled so easily by someone who was the dead last of his academy class two weeks ago! He'd managed to regain some equilibrium when a punch was thrown at him and blocked it.

The real Naruto picked up the only original _Hiraishin _kunai and headed towards the forest. After ensuring that he was far enough from their sensei, he released the jutsu holding the kunai as well as his _Kage Bunshin _and continued on his destination. He had one of the bells and all it took was a bit of deception on his part.

On his way he suddenly heard something that sounded like loud laughter and chuckled as he thought

'_I knew I'd get you sensei, that's what you get for underestimating a prankster who's a Shinobi and for reading those dirty books.'_

As he neared his destination, he pocketed the bell that he had taken and entered a clearing where he saw Sasuke's head sticking out of the ground. He had to stifle the laugh that was threatening to come out when he saw him. He just settled for taunting him a bit.

"Well Uchiha-san, it would seem that you are in need of that help you refused earlier."

Sasuke tried to turn to look at him but was stuck and settled for a grunt while saying "Yeah, whatever." Naruto then helped him out of his position and the two proceeded to find Sakura, who they found a few moments later lying down with a dazed look.

"Genjutsu" said Sasuke

It was true, She had fallen prey to Kakashi's _Magen Narakumi no Jutsu _and was terrified to see a bloodied Sasuke with kunai sticking out of him and had passed out.

They quickly waked her and set up a plan to get the bells after Sasuke told Sakura that Naruto was right; they would do better working together against a Jounin. They then set out a plan and searched for their sensei as their was only ten minutes to go till noon.

A few minutes passed and they soon found their sensei, resting against a tree with his head down. As soon as they were about to spring into action, a shrill ringing was heard which indicated the end of their time.

They all stood next to each other with their teacher in front of them. Nothing could be gained from trying to read his facial expression as it was blank. They all looked at each other for a few moments until Kakashi decided to break the silence.

"Well, it looks like only one of you will be going back to the academy."

At this, Sakura and Sasuke both let go of the breath that they didn't even know they were holding. Naruto simply stared on, waiting for the rest of the evaluation. Before they could venture further in their thoughts he continued.

"Naruto, you will be going back to the academy."

Naruto could have sworn he heard something akin to Dobe being whispered but he let it pass. Sakura on the other hand was day dreaming about her and Sasuke being on the same team and true love prevailing.

"The rest of you" continued Kakashi "Should quit being ninja's forever."

This shocked all of the students including Naruto, considering the angry tone that their sensei had used. He went on.

"Sasuke, you never even looked out to help one of your teammates and tried to attack me on your own. Do you really think you can take me on? A Jounin? Even if you do have one or two good Ninjutsu, You have nothing else but arrogance and pride that will eventually be your downfall if you don't attempt to change. Do you think I don't know that Naruto approached you for help? Yet, you turned him down."

Sasuke looked like he could kill the Jounin for insulting him like this and was about to go in motion before he continued again.

"Sakura, Sakura, Sakura, what am I to do with you. You reacted even worse than Sasuke to Naruto's request for help by turning him down and calling him an idiot while you chased the 'Love of your life'. If you think that Sasuke's always going to be your Knight in shining amour then you're sadly mistaken. Those Fan girl tendencies are what will get you killed on the battlefield. That's why you should quit being Ninja."

Sakura had a solemn look on her face after his final sentence and he visibly calmed down, then continued.

"Naruto."

Said person perked up at the mention of his name and looked at his sensei while the two others were curious and wanted to know what their 'idiot' teammate had been up to before he came to them.

"Like I said, Naruto will be the only one sent back to the academy. Not only did he figure out the hidden meaning of the test, but he also attempted to share with his teammates who harshly rejected him. Not only that, he was the only one who was able to get a bell from me."

Sasuke and Sakura's eyes widened at that revelation and then looked at Naruto expecting him to be jumping up and down while rejoicing for the world to hear but he was seating calmly against a tree.

"For all intents and purposes, he should have been able to be a genin, but because of your actions, he can't."

"Take a look at this," he continued "Upon this is all the names of the great men and women who gave their lives for Konoha while protecting it in one way or another. Remember, those who break the rules are considered as trash, but those who abandon their comrades are even worse than trash."

With that, he stopped talking and faced Naruto.

"I'm going to give Naruto a chance to save at least one of you. He will decide who passes or fails by giving them the additional bell." Kakashi tossed the remaining bell to Naruto whom caught it then looked at both his teammates and saw the look in their eyes; they each seemed to be pleading silently to him to give them the bell. He slowly reached into his pocket and pulled out both bells. He then sent one each to both Sakura and Sasuke while saying,

"You can both keep the bells, I don't want to be on a team where one teammate would probably kill me to impress the other, and the other wouldn't care even if the rest of his team died. Might be better spending another year at the academy if this is what I have to look forward to."

He was about to leave but was stopped by a hand on his shoulder which belonged to Sasuke. He said

"You know, I thought you were just goanna give it to me cause I'm the last Uchiha. If that's your reason for it then it's me that should be spending some more time at the academy, not you."

While extending his hand to Naruto to give him the bell he had thrown him earlier. Sakura also stepped forward with an outstretched hand and continued,

"If we had listened to you from the start, we might have been able to make a great team. Unfortunately, like Sasuke said, we are the ones who need to be sent back to the academy, not you, so here you go"

She said while throwing the bell towards him.

'_Hmm' _thought Kakashi, _'Looks like they're already turning out to be a great team.'_

"If that's the case, then we'll all go back," said Naruto, hoping that what he wanted to accomplish had been done. Sneaking a peek at his sensei, he noticed that he seemed to be smiling if his eye was any indication.

Kakashi on the other hand eyed him and saw him looking at him and thought that Naruto may have caught on to what he was trying to do and simply went along with it.

"Is that your decision?" he asked, his voice devoid of any emotion.

"Hai" the three replied in perfect synchronization.

"If that's the case…You all pass." He said while eye smiling at them.

Sakura and Sasuke seemed a little confused at first and looked at their sensei. He in turn looked at Naruto as if beckoning him to explain to them which he did. In the end they all seemed happy with the results while Sakura thought _'maybe he isn't an idiot as we always call him'_. Sasuke was also having similar thoughts but were interrupted by their sensei saying

"As of tomorrow, Team 7 will be on active duty and I expect you to do things to the best of your ability. Meet me here tomorrow at 7 am." With that he turned around and was about to leave before he said

"Oh and Naruto, I'll be visiting you a bit later on to discuss some stuff OK. Ja ne." and he was gone in a puff of smoke.

The Hokage Tower was abuzz with activity as the Jounin who had volunteered to be Sensei's stood together conversing about one thing or another. A few others had also joined them to find the results of their genin tests and were chatting with each other to get the information.

All chatter ceased as the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi stepped into the room. After taking a log drag from his pipe, he began speaking.

"I trust that everyone is here?"

Someone was about to answer but then a poof of smoke alerted them to the presence of someone entering the room. All heads turned to the new presence to find Kakashi with his regular reading material in one hand and the other waving in greeting.

"Yo" he said.

"Continuing on," said Sarutobi, "Could we please continue with the meeting?" Although it was a question, there was no mistaking the commanding tone of voice that he used. "We'll begin with Team 1."

The sensei for Team 1 stepped forward and said "Team 1 failed sir; they didn't have the necessary skills to become Shinobi."

At this Sarutobi nodded his head and they proceeded to the remaining Jounin. All of Teams 2 through 6 also failed the Jounin instructors test. When it came to Team 7 Kakashi lazily lifted his head and said

"Team 7 consisting of Sasuke Uchiha, Sakura Haruno and Naruto Uzumaki…. Passes."

At this many eyes widened and whispering broke out among the Jounin as it was well known among the Jounin that Kakashi had never once passed a genin team since his time as a Jounin. One voice arose among all the other saying

"Yosh, Kakashi my eternal rival, your youthfulness knows no bounds. You have finally seen the light at the end of the tunnel. To celebrate your youthfulness and fan our flames of youth, lets run around Konoha's wall 500 times and then climb the Hokage Mountain with one hand 100 times and…." This was said by the self proclaimed Azure beast of Konoha, Maito Gai.

The rest of it was stopped by Kakashi asking

"Hm, you say something Gai?"

He stopped suddenly mid rant and told Kakashi of his hip and skilful not to mention youthful ways.

The Hokage, a bit tired of Gai, was a bit curious and silently asked Kakashi to proceed before Gai could get any further with his rant.

"At first I was sure that the team would fail, but in the end they proved me wrong."

Someone in the crowd said "I'm sure it was the Uchiha who carried the team."

"Actually, no" replied Kakashi, "Left to Sasuke, the team would have failed. The same could be said for Sakura. However," at this he looked directly at the Sandaime "Naruto Uzumaki was the one who pulled his team through with quick thinking and incredible skill that seemed way beyond what he was taught the academy."

The same person from before said "As if! That good for nothing demon can do nothing but destroy people."

He was immediately silenced by an elbow to the stomach courtesy of Kakashi whom only the Hokage, Gai and three others had seen him move. He then said to the Jounin

"If I hear you say that refer to my student as such one more time, Ibiki and Anko will be having some fun with you later today. Understand?"

The Jounin could only nod his head in the positive as he didn't trust his voice at the moment. The Hokage raised his hand as if to calm down the others and asked the others to continue who gave their reports. In the end, only two more teams passed which were Teams eight and ten consisting of Kiba Inuzuka, Hinata Hyuuga, and Shino Aburame under Yuuhi Kurenai and Ino Yamanaka, Shikamaru Nara, and Chougi Akimichi under Sarutobi Asuma. A few more words were exchanged then the meeting was called to a close with all but one masked Jounin exiting the Hokage Tower. He had some questions that he wanted answered and he would do all he could to get the answers before visiting Naruto. With that he approached the Sandaime with one thought in mind.'

'_Who really is Naruto Uzumaki?'_

* * *

That's all for now

Jutsu Translations

_Magen Narakumi no Jutsu_ – Demonic Illusion Hell Viewing Technique

_Kage Bunshin no Jutsu _– Shadow Clone Technique

_Kunai Kage Bunshin no Jutsu_ – Kunai Shadow Clone Technique

_Hiraishin no Jutsu _– Flying Thunder God Technique

Thanks to all those who reviewed


	7. Chapter 7

The Yellow Maelstrom

Summary

Shortly after failing the graduation exam, Naruto steals the forbidden scroll and finds a scroll addressed to him inside. Armed with it, he will strive to become the best as his heritage is revealed to him and he rocks the Shinobi world as a force to be reckoned with.

Remember, I don't own Naruto.

Thanks again to all of you who continue to review and read. Please continue to do so. Hope you all enjoy this chapter

Recently did some power balancing due to people pointing out that Naruto is becoming godlike, would rather avoid doing that otherwise the story may go in a direction I don't want it to. So instead of Naruto performing the Hiraishin last chapter he bluffed using it and other stuff like that too.

The character may appear to be acting OC but this fiction is a lot different as is this squad seven yet if you stay you'll see that they haven't completely changed.

"Normal Speech"

'_Thoughts'_

"**Kyuubi Influenced Naruto or Kyuubi"**

'_**Kyuubi Thoughts'**_

_+Flashback+_

_Jutsus being used/ reading letter, note_

* * *

Answers and Team Training

Kakashi exited the Hokage tower with almost the same amount of information that he already knew. After explaining in detail his test to his genin team, the Hokage just told him that if he wanted answers, then he'd have to talk to Naruto directly. With that in mind, he headed to the training ground that the Sandaime told him Naruto Usually trained at, Training ground 37 as he approached he stood there for a while observing the blond training before calling out to Naruto.

Hearing his name, he turned around to greet his sensei then asked. "Ne Kakashi-Sensei, what are you doing here?"

Kakashi looked at him and said "I'm here because of some things that you brought to my attention."

Naruto raised his eyebrows as if in surprise and asked

"And what would that be?"

"For one, how you acquired one of my sensei's special kunai." The Jounin asked then spared a glance at a seemingly random tree "Would you mind continuing this conversation elsewhere?"

"Sure Sensei." with that said, he grabbed Naruto's shoulder and they Shunshined to Naruto's apartment.

They arrived shortly, and a short series of seals later by Kakashi, a blue glow could be seen emanating all around the apartment before it faded away.

"The room's now secure so we can talk privately" said Kakashi

"OK"

Kakashi then motioned for him to continue.

"Well the deal with the kunai, it belongs to me. Someone precious to me left it in hopes that I would someday find it."

Kakashi was at a loss for words. The only thing he could think of was _'could this be sensei's son? After all, the Sandaime did say that he died minutes after child birth. But they look so much alike and now the deal with the kunai…'_

"Really now? Who was that if I may ask?"

"A great man, loving husband and caring father" replied Naruto while saying the last part in a whisper.

"So you really are sensei's son." Said Kakashi, he merely got a nod in response.

"To think that I was supposed to take care of you while you were growing up, only to be told that you died shortly after being born. I feel like strangling the Sandaime for this." Said Kakashi, visibly angered

Naruto looked at him and could see the anger in his eyes, but beneath that he also saw the sorrow and regret that plagued him. He spoke up.

"It's alright Sensei. Dad didn't want anyone to know of my real parents. He did it for my protection, and I respect him for it. Not even the council knows."

Kakashi sighed and said "But still, if I had known, I would have been able to do more. No one should have to suffer what you went through Naruto, no one." When he was done, he closed his eyes as if to suppress everything that he felt.

To Naruto, it was heart warming. On of the few people whom his Dad had trusted and taught was his sensei, and he didn't hate him for having Hikari sealed inside of him. He felt the tears but bit them back. He knew that somewhere along the line he would find people who cared about him, but he never thought it would be this quick. To him, it felt great.

In Kakashi's case, he was having a serious wake up call. For years after his teammate Obito Uchiha and his Sensei died, he would dwell in the past. He used to think that moving on with his life would dishonour their memory. Even when Rin had disappeared, he still acted the same. He would visit the Heroes Memorial for hours every day in memory of his comrades and friends and would be late like Obito used to be. He had even taken the same excuses that his friend did and used them. Despite all of this, he still performed effectively as a ninja. Maybe it was time to stop living in the past.

He had long thought his sensei's son to be dead. Meeting him and speaking with him had cleared the veil that was over his eyes. It was time to do what his sensei had done for him, be there for his team and train them to be the best. He made a silent oath on his grave, that no matter what, he would ensure his team was treated well. He had been thinking of putting most of his attention on Sasuke, and the council probing him to ditch his other students didn't help any. Now, he knew what he would do. It was time to get serious and once again show the Shinobi world whom he was.

His thoughts were then interrupted by Naruto.

"You know sensei, in the letter that Dad wrote to me, he specifically told me that if I had any trouble, I should seek you out. The stunt I pulled on you during our test was my own little test for you. A test of trust you could say."

"Well Naruto, what can I say. In the mean time, mind if I ask you some more questions?"

He nodded his head.

"Ok. I'd like to know what kind of training you've been undergoing for the last two weeks, because if your performance during the bell test was any indication, you've improved drastically from your days at the academy."

And so, Naruto went into the details of his training with his sensei, from his stamina and endurance training to his practicing chakra control and different areas of study. He also informed him of his connection with Kyuubi, or Hikari as he called her.

At first Kakashi looked afraid and thought that somehow the fox might have influenced him but then calmed down after being that the Sandaime knew and would have taken corrective measures if something was wrong.

They then continued to talk about different things, and Naruto probed Kakashi for as much information as he could about his father. They also went through the training schedule that Naruto had been using and agreed to adjust it to fit the needs of their team as they would be using it from Tomorrow. When they finally stopped conversing it was almost 10 in the evening. Kakashi was about to leave but turned around and said

"Naruto, tomorrow I'm going to be training Team 7 like a real team, so I suggest you rest up tonight, cause tomorrows goanna be hell."

With that, he dispelled the privacy jutsu that he had set up and waved good bye before poofing out of the room. Naruto, being a bit tired from the day's activities plopped down on his bed with a smile on his face.

Getting up at 5 am like he usually did, Naruto ran through his morning ritual and stepped outside for his morning warm up. After completing it, he had breakfast and made his way to training ground 7 arriving a little bit early. On arrival, he saw Sakura and Sasuke already there and said a quick good morning to both. One only grunted a reply while the other replied "Ohayou Naruto."

Naruto quickly settled down against a tree and waited for their sensei.

As soon as it was 7 am, a puff of smoke alerted them to someone entering their training area. The person looked like their sensei, but Sasuke and Sakura were blinking their eyes repeatedly as if asking the silent question 'is he really here?' He was dressed the same but was missing his orange 'literature' and had a 24" Ninjato strapped to his back with a black and silver sheathe. He no longer held the lazy stance that was usually seen at a first glance but now looked ready for action at a moments notice.

Both were justified in their actions as he was late for their last two meetings by at least two hours. Even Naruto was surprised by the transformation though the only indication was his raised eyebrows. Kakashi, seeing the effect that he had on the genin quickly waved whatever doubt that they had and spoke up.

"Ok team, as of yesterday we are officially team seven. Usually, teams would go out to do D rank Missions for the first few months as genin. Our team however, will not be doing this. For the first two months as a team, we will be training in the Ninja arts to get your skill level up to at least high genin in all areas and higher if possible. That includes you too Sakura." He said as he saw her wide eyed.

"As a result, we will be leaving the main part of the village and going to my estate where we will live for that time. We will be leaving for our training tomorrow at 8 am so you will have sufficient time to inform your parents and friends of your absence. Any questions?"

"Yes Sensei." Said Sakura "What do we have to bring along with us?"

"Only clothing and any other training material that you posses." He replied "Any thing else? No? If that's the case then we will begin our training for today."

All three of them stared at him they blinked and blinked again. Was their sensei crazy? After telling them that they would basically be secluded for the first two months of active duty he wanted to train them? Even Naruto was surprised. In the end, they all stood up and Kakashi began instructing them on their exercises for the day, running laps around the training area.

Three hours later, a tired Sakura plopped down on the ground with no more strength while Sasuke, Naruto and Kakashi kept up the exercise.

An hour later Kakashi called it to a stop and had all of them rest for half an hour. After their short break, they continued the exercise, but this time they practiced all of the hand seals in random order while running. Two hours later, they all stopped and were treated to lunch by Kakashi. After their lunch break, he called them together and said,

"Training for today is over." A sigh of relief was heard from Sakura.

"However, in the weeks to come, you will be training harder than you ever thought possible and I'll be pushing you past your limits."

At this Sakura deflated, however both Naruto and Sasuke had a determined on their faces and when she looked at them she gained a small bit of confidence. Even if it wasn't much, at least it was there.

Kakashi looked at them once more then said

"That's all for today. Meet me tomorrow at the West gate at 8 am with all of your supplies for a two month training trip. Bring along any technique scrolls that you have as well as anything else that will help your training. That's all for now. Dismissed."

"Hai" they chorused

With that all four of them separated, each going their own way.

Naruto had finished packing by mid afternoon and was heading to the Ichiraku Ramen stand to inform Ayame and Old man Teuchi that he would be gone for two months with his team. While packing his scrolls and clothing for training, he had come across the scroll with the Kanji for two. He had decided to read it later that day since he had long since mastered the chakra control exercises as well as the a few other exercises.

As he made his way to the Ramen stand, he remembered the conversation he had with Hikari about their training trip, and he had received the shock of his life when he entered his mindscape. Standing behind the bars was not the Nine Tailed Kitsune that he was accustomed to, but a beautiful red haired beauty with a dark green kimono and sandals that showed of her perfect feet. She also had a collar around her neck marked 'Seal'. He remembered the moment vividly.

_+Flashback+_

"_H-Hi-Hikari?" Naruto asked, stunned beyond words that the entity that was inside of him would be beautiful. His jaw dropped to the ground when he heard her speak._

"_In the flesh Naruto" she replied. Seeing his surprised face, she chuckled lightly and said "No need to get a heart attack Naruto, this is my human form"_

_When he was finally able to gather his wits, he said "sougi, to think that the most destructive force on the planet is that beautiful."_

_At that comment Hikari just laughed then said, "Yeah, I'm amazing I know, but that's not why I called you here. That Cycloptic teacher of yours has finally pulled his act together. He will be training your body during the day, and every night during your sleep we'll be training your mind."_

"_But I thought we were already doing that with the shougi games" said Naruto._

"_That," laughed Hikari, "is just a taste of what you can actually do. When you exercise your mind to the fullest, you won't even believe the things you will be able to accomplish. Now be sure to pack all of the remaining scrolls from your father. You will find some time to deal with them."_

"_Ok Hikari, anything else?" asked Naruto._

"_Yeah, could you change the look of this place? With my Kitsune form its all nice and dandy but right now my Kimono's beginning to get soggy and I hate wet clothing. So could you do it?" asked Hikari_

"_If I can, besides, I think its about time I got my head out of the gutter, or the gutter out of my head" he said with a light laugh. "I'm guessing I just need to imagine the change right?"_

_He got a nod for this and after a brief moment of concentration, the mindscape began to change from a sewer to a lovely field with a two story house on the top of a slight incline. There was also a small lake and a few trees and even some birds._

_Hikari stood shocked at the scenery and a moment later asked "where did you see this?"_

"_That was a place that I discovered a long time ago while running from the villagers on the outskirts of the village on my birthday. Till this day, it's one of the most beautiful sights that I've ever seen."_

_Hikari just stood and listened before a chair materialized behind her which she sat on._

"_Arigatou Naruto," she said._

"_No Problem Hikari, anytime"_

_After that statement, he phased out of his mindscape._

_+Flashback End+_

He smiled at the memory and blushed slightly remembering how she looked. Taking in his surroundings, he noticed that he was near the ramen stand. On entering, he greeted Ayame and Teuchi warmly before ordering a couple bowls of ramen.

After finishing his food, he called out to Ayame and told her about his training trip with his team. She smiled at him while saying that she was proud of him. He felt good to know that these two cared for him as one of their own. There had been many time in the past where the Ichiraku Ramen stand had served as his safe haven from angry people and drunkards who had wanted to beat him up. Boy was he thankful for the day they found him.

He spent some time catching up with her but sadly, she had to help her father so the parted company with her agreeing to tell her father of is departure.

After leaving the Ramen shop he debated whether to head to the Hokage tower or Tenten's Fathers' store. Checking his location, he decided to go to the weapon store where he met Tenten's Father Iroshi. He informed him of his trip and proceeded to ask if he knew where Tenten trained. He was informed that she was currently on a C ranked mission outside of the village so he left a note to her as well as one to Lee that she would take to him.

He then went through the store to stock up on some of his supplies, paid for them, then left with a wave to Iroshi.

With his next destination as the Hokage tower, he took to the roof tops and made good time getting there. On his way he decided to prank the Hokage so he entered through the window while shouting

"DUCK"

The Hokage who was giggling away with an orange book in hand turned around and fell into a ready stance, or what would have looked like one had he not had his Icha Icha Paradise book in one hand and a book marker in the other.

Naruto seeing the old Kage's reaction fell onto the floor laughing his butt off.

"You should have seen your face jiji, that was priceless. Ha ha ha. It's times like now I wish I carried a camera, ha ha ha," Laughed Naruto.

Sarutobi just shook his head while thinking _'I'm getting to old for this'. _Before it could escalate any further he proceeded to speak to Naruto.

"So what are you here for Naruto?" _'Apart from ruining my fun'_ he added mentally.

"Well jiji, I just wanted to drop by to let you know of a training trip that Kakashi-sensei will be taking us on tomorrow, so I won't be around for awhile. But I'm sure you knew that." He said.

"Ah yes, the training trip that I approved for Team 7. I do know of it, but it's nice of you to drop by to let me know."

"Yeah, Kakashi-sensei says that he wants us to be really strong at the end of our training." Said the Blond boy.

"Really?" said the Sandaime with a twinkle in his eye, "If that's the case then I better start packing up my bags so that you can take my place."

"You got that right old man, I'll be sure to send you into retirement by the time I return, believe it!" joked Naruto with a grin that rivalled a foxes on his face.

The Sandaime smiled gently as he thought '_It's good to see that you are in high spirits Naruto-kun, now I know I did the right thing letting you keep that scroll from your father.' _

"Of course Naruto. Now if you don't have any thing else to tell me, I've got the worst enemy of all Kage's to beat."

"What's that jiji?" asked Naruto.

"Paperwork" he replied.

Naruto sweat dropped at that and proceeded to say goodbye to the aged Hokage while telling him to inform Konohamaru of his trip.

As soon as Naruto exited the Hokage tower, he made his way towards his previous teachers' home. He had come to look at him as the big brother that he never had and loved spending time with him, especially if it involved Ramen.

When he got there, he was invited in by Iruka and began to recount his activities for the past days to him while Iruka made a few sandwiches. When he finished retelling what happened, Iruka looked at him and thought '_This is definitely not the same Naruto that was at the academy, some things changed but to some extent he's still the same. I think the best title would be the Number one most unpredictable ninja in Konoha.'_

"Iruka-sensei, are you listening?" asked Naruto "You looked like you're lost in thought or something."

"I am listening Naruto, Now why don't….."

And so they continued talking for some time before Iruka informed Naruto that he should probably head home now, which he did.

Sakura had been packing her clothes while she thought of what their sensei told them. When she had told her parents who her sensei was after their test, they smiled at her and said that he was one of the best Ninja's in the village. _'Whatever'_ she had thought. But seeing him earlier today, she began to wonder if she had done him justice. He said that he would teach them the best he could. Did she really want that? After all, the only reason she became a kunoichi was to compete with Ino and to get Sasuke's attention. Did she really want to continue? Would Sasuke always be there to save her, or would he even try to?

These were some of the questions that were running through her mind at the moment. '_What can I do'_ she thought, '_I'm not even able to keep up with my teammates during simple exercises.'_

At this, she hung her head low and her chest felt heavy. '_Am I really cut out to be a kunoichi?' _she thought dejectedly. '_Maybe I should just quit'._

She tried to get some rest, but she just couldn't fall asleep. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't. After a few hours she got up and turned on her light then searched for some random book on her bookshelf. _'Might as well try reading' _she thought.

The book that she ended up choosing was entitled 'Hokages Past and Present: The Will of Fire'

She became so engrossed in her reading that she hardly noticed the passage of time and by the time she was done, it was already 2 am. Startled, she quickly put it away and made her way to her bed and instantly fell asleep with a gentle smile, her last coherent thought being '_I finally found my reason for being a Kunoichi'._

All three genin members of Team seven were at the designated meeting point with five minutes to spare. At Eight o clock exactly, a 'poof' was heard signifying the arrival of their sensei. He greeted them which they returned and they headed out of the gates on to the outskirts of the village.

A 10 minute walk later, they reached a clearing in the forest that looked oddly placed. Kakashi quickly went through a set of seals and place his hands on the ground. Immediately, the clearing blurred out of existence and in its place stood a large three story house with a big training area to the right and left. The rest was obscured from view but they were sure it was as magnificent as the rest.

"Welcome to the Hatake Residence." said Kakashi with his most cordial tone, though there was a hint of playfulness in his voice.

"Ah the pleasure is all ours Kakashi-sensei" replied Naruto catching on.

All four of them shared a quick laugh before heading through the gate and to the front door. When they eventually made it Kakashi pulled out a key from his pocket and opened the door revealing the inside to his students. After telling them to choose any of the rooms on the second floor, they settled in and began unpacking their belongings. Kakashi decided to give them some free time so he informed them that they would be going over their schedule at lunch so they should get themselves familiar with the training ground around the house.

Lunch was ready at 1 pm, so all the members of team seven sat together around the table to eat but not before saying thanks.

While eating, Kakashi began to outline what their training schedule would be like for the first month.

5 am. Wake up

5:30 Morning exercises

7am Breakfast

7:30 Taijutsu, Speed, Stamina, Strength, weapon training

12pm Lunch

1pm Chakra Control

3pm Ninjutsu/ Genjutsu theory, practice and application

5pm rest

6pm Strategy

8pm Dinner

10pm Bed Time

"OK everyone" said Kakashi "How does that sound to you? As we move along we will be adjusting it to meet your needs."

"That's a lot of training sensei," said Sakura "but I'm sure we'll make it." She finished with a smile.

The two others nodded their heads indicating their approval then Sasuke asked

"What type of Taijutsu styles will we be training in?"

He wanted to know because he wanted to master his family Taijutsu style.

"If you have a particular style that you want to practice, you will be free to do so while I will be supervising each of you." He replied. "Now Sakura, I know that you do not have any particular style, so I took the liberty of choosing one for you. The Medic nin style of fighting will be the one you'll be using. Though I'm not very well versed in it, on our return to the village, you will be spending some time at the hospital to perfect it."

She nodded at this then Naruto spoke up.

"Sensei, I will be learning the Hummingbird style, what do you recommend."

While going through the second scroll that his father had left him, he found another scroll inside of it detailing that particular style which was the one his dad used.

Kakashi smiled at that. He had been expecting Naruto to choose that style so it didn't come as a surprise.

"We'll first have to work on increasing your speed by increasing your weights," he said "Then we'll work on your accuracy".

Naruto Smiled and nodded. When they finished eating, Kakashi stood up and said,

"Now's training time!"

Training continued as expected for the first month, doing exercises as well as furthering what they already knew. At the end of the month, Naruto's weights were now taking up to 30 percent of his total Chakra Capacity. Many days, after training, he would be exhausted from all of the training that he put himself through. Even Kakashi thought that he was pushing his limits too far so he asked him to take it easy. At the end of the first month, the end justified the means to him as all of his abilities skyrocketed.

He had been training in the Taijutsu style of his father practicing different katas and had already memorized all of them. Even if he memorized them, he still had a long way to go before mastering that particular style though he was on the right path. He was sure that he could take on all of the genin in his graduating class without a problem in Taijutsu and probably some low Chuunin level ninjas with most of his weights on. I he removed his weights, he could go toe-to-toe with Kakashi at 25 percent of his full power in a Taijutsu spar for some time, but Kakashi's experience gave him the upper hand even though he too had weights on.

In his Ninjutsu training, he progressed at an alarming rate. Everything that Kakashi threw at them, he learned and attempted to master. They had begun with non-elemental Ninjutsu such as the Shunshin for the first month. After playing around with it for a while, Naruto asked Kakashi if elemental versions of the _Shunshin _could be created. He responded in the positive, so he set to work on creating one in his spare time and ended up with two different versions that he taught his teacher, the _Fuuton Shunshin_ and the _Katon Shunshin_. He had taught the Katon to his other teammates as well as the _Shuriken Kage Bunshin _and _Kunai Kage Bunshin_. He had also managed to learn the _Bunshin Bakuha_ with the help of his Sensei.

Genjutsu was arguable his worst area. At present he lacked the control necessary to perform any Genjutsu over C rank. He could also easily recognize and dispel them. One of the highlights of his Genjutsu training was when his sensei asked him to create a Bunshin. It came out the same as his academy days. He quickly dispelled it and tried again, this time using as little chakra as he could but thinking of over 100 clones. The result was spectacular. Covering the entire clearing were Bunshins of Naruto. He had finally mastered his worst jutsu. He also had the mental training that Hikari had promised him.

Sakura and Sasuke's training had been going on very well. They had each been practicing their respective Taijutsu styles under Kakashi's watchful eye and became very proficient at them. They had also been training in the same Ninjutsu's as Naruto as well as Genjutsu and weapon training. Of the two, Sakura had been the one to improve the most. Sasuke had bee angry at her progress at the beginning because he wasn't improving at such a rate but when Kakashi explained the reason for her growth, he cooled down.

During their training, one would have thought that Kakashi would have been off reading his books but he was actually with them completing the exercises, albeit with more restrictions. He also improved during their time together, getting back in the shape he was during his ANBU years was his goal at the end of the two months.

Overall they had become a much better team. Sakura was their Medic/ Genjutsu/ Support, while Sasuke covered Taijutsu/ Genjutsu/ Ninjutsu. Naruto on the other had was the powerhouse of the team and because of his massive chakra capacity, which according to Kakashi was more than his ran Ninjutsu/ Taijutsu.

Not only were their fighting and teamwork skills better, but their interpersonal and social skills had improved, especially Sasuke's. No longer would he just sit and brood by himself but would actually have conversations with his teammates. To Kakashi however, their greatest achievement was helping Sakura out of her fan girl stage. It had been difficult, but in the end it was worth it. They were on their way to becoming one of the best genin teams in Konoha.

As the second month of their training began, Kakashi called them all together to have a meeting.

"Ok guys, the first month of your training has been completed and I have to say that I am very proud of the progress that you have made. You have far exceeded my expectations. As a result, we will be moving on to more advanced forms of training." Said Kakashi with a smile on his face. He was in fact extremely proud of his students and had been sceptical about isolating them from the village to train but in the end decided to go for it. Now he was seeing the results and was happy for them

Each of the genin standing before him had smiles on their faces. Yes, even the ever smirking Sasuke Uchiha had a real smile. They had worked hard and were reaping the benefits.

"Now, the second month of training will focus on mastering what you already have at your disposal as well as adding some new stuff to what you know. Your schedules will also be changed a bit by reducing the amount of time spent on chakra control and increasing your Nin, Gen and Taijutsu training. We will also be working on chakra sensing and suppression. Any thing else that you would like to include?"

"What about my Fuuinjutsu training Kakashi Sensei?" asked Naruto

"That you will have to work on in your free time Naruto. If you have any difficulties with it, you should seek me out. If that's all, we'll begin our training tomorrow. By the way, you have the day off."

With that, he left them to their own devices for the rest of the day.

The month passed quickly for team seven. They made progress in all of their Shinobi skills. Sakura and Sasuke had taken to wearing weights to improve their speed while Naruto had continued to increase his weights and was now taking 40 percent of his steadily increasing chakra capacity. He had continued to modify the _Shunshin no jutsu_ and finally completed them. He now had one for each element; Fuuton, Katon, Raiton, Doton and Suiton. His teammates couldn't believe how quickly he had taken to modifying the _Shunshin no Jutsu_. Kakashi thought to himself that there was only one more person who had managed to do what Naruto did, and incidentally it was his Father. It seemed that Naruto really was out to surpass him.

Kakashi had continued to teach his team different Ninjutsu's after finding out their elemental affinity. He vividly remembered giving them the test.

_+Flashback+_

"_Guys," he began, "I have decided to give each of you something because of your performances so far in training. In my hands are a few strips of paper. When chakra is added, it will determine what your elemental affinity is. Each of you will be given one of these."_

_With that, he handed one to each of them and demonstrated by pouring chakra into the card. It instantly split in two, one side crinkled while the other caught fire. All three of the genin stared wide eyed at what they saw. _

"_As you can see, I have two chakra affinities; Lightening and Fire. If you have lightening it will crinkle, fire it will burn, water it will get soggy, earth it will crumble and wind it will split. Now you go Sakura."_

"_Hai" she replied while pushing chakra into the paper. It instantly became soggy indicating that she had an affinity for water. _

_Sasuke went next. Half of his card crinkled and the other caught fire, the same as Kakashi._

_Naruto was next. He pushed Chakra into the card and at the end Kakashi stood wide eyed. He had never seen something like this happen before. It had to be some mistake. In Naruto's hand, the card split in four different pieces, one crinkled, one burned, one got soggy and the last shredded into many different pieces._

"_Amazing" said Naruto wide eyed at what just happened. Kakashi on the other would have had to pick his jaw off the ground if not for his face mask. To ensure the accuracy, he asked Naruto to do the test again and the same results were seen._

"_Hmm, I just I'm just that awesome" said Naruto while striking a pose effectively causing the others to laugh at his antics._

_+Flashback End+_

They had been flabbergasted at this but had continued to train in new techniques that their sensei taught them. They all had at least three offensive and three defensive Ninjutsu's at their disposal.

All in all, their training had been a huge success; Sasuke had even managed to activate his Sharingan during one of their three way spars. After a talk with Kakashi, he had vowed to never copy one of his comrades' techniques and had been learning his techniques without its aid. They were all very proud of their accomplishments and currently on their way back to the village. Suddenly Naruto spoke up and said

"How about we get there faster?"

"You know Naruto" said Sasuke, "That's not such a bad idea."

With that they nodded to each other and _Shunshined_ out of the area.

Inside of the Hokage Tower, the Sarutobi was doing some paperwork and was cursing his successor turned predecessor for leaving him to do it. Suddenly he felt four chakra signatures approaching and turned from his work.

A moment later, a wall of flame appeared in the room from about seven feet from the ground. When it touched the floor, it reversed directions and went back up extinguishing itself. There stood Team seven armed and ready for combat.

"Team Seven reporting back from Training Hokage-sama."

* * *

That's it.

Dramatic ending right?

That little Hikari scene was for the fans(I'm not an Ero)

Any way on with the Jutsu translations

_Shunshin_ – Body Flicker Technique

_Fuuton – _Wind

_Doton – _Earth

_Raiton – _Lightening

_Suiton – _Water

_Katon – _Fire

_Shuriken Kage Bunshin no Jutsu – _Shuriken Shadow Clone Technique

_Kunai Kage Bunshin no jutsu – _Kunai Shadow Clone Technique

_Bunshin Bakuha – _Clone Explosion

Please continue to read and review`


	8. Chapter 8

The Yellow Maelstrom

Summary

Shortly after failing the graduation exam, Naruto steals the forbidden scroll and finds a scroll addressed to him inside. Armed with it, he will strive to become the best as his heritage is revealed to him and he rocks the Shinobi world as a force to be reckoned with.

Thanks again to all of you who continue to review and read. And welcome to those that have read the original I hope I meet your expectations. Also will begin some upgrading of the original chapters and some proper power balancing. I'd like to thank the support I've received so far from you the readers and hope you all enjoy this next chapter.

Remember, I don't own Naruto.

"Normal Speech"

'_Thoughts'_

**"Kyuubi Influenced Naruto or Kyuubi"**

'_**Kyuubi Thoughts'**_

_+Flashback+_

_Jutsus being used/ reading letter, note_

* * *

Missions 

"_Team Seven reporting back from Training Hokage-sama."_

Hiruzen Sarutobi sat shocked, though it wasn't visible. He had been expecting the team for a few days now but what he saw before him was definitely unexpected. Naruto and Kakashi looked almost the same. However, Sakura and Sasuke were the ones who changed the most visibly.

Sasuke, instead of his white shorts and blue shirt now had on a dark brown short pants and black shirt with the Uchiha symbol on the back. He also had on armored gloves that protected his entire hand. His facial expression had also changed. Where there once was an impassive look or severe glare now stood a confident but not arrogant smirk.

Sakura on the other hand was still decked in pink. Her top was a light brown with a pink jacket over it. Her shorts were dark green in colour and she also had fingerless gloves similar to the ones Naruto used.

All in all, team seven looked ready to take on the world. Sarutobi finally spoke up.

"I take it that your training trip has been a success?"

"Yes Hokage-sama," replied Kakashi

"Alright," he replied "How soon will you be ready to take on missions with your team Kakashi?" asked the Hokage.

After looking at his students for a moment, he responded

"By tomorrow sir."

"Hmm, if that's the case, then all of you but Kakashi are dismissed"

The Genin promptly bowed and exited the tower after being told by their sensei that they would be meeting at training ground 7 at 7am. The Hokage then focused his attention on Kakashi and asked

"Is there anything that you would like to add as they are away, Kakashi?"

"Hai Hokage-sama," he replied.

The Hokage nodded and Kakashi continued

"Sir, the training the team seven underwent was a success and I have to say that the results surprised even me. At their current power level, all of them can take on low Chuunin level ninja alone and win. Sasuke and Naruto can take on a mid level Chuunin alone and win, Sakura possibly could. The two boys probably could take on high level Chuunin. Possibly they could take on low Jounin level ninja but would have to go all out against both levels of shinobi and end it quickly due to lack of experience especially against a low level Jounin."

"Hmm. It seems that they are strong individually, but what of their capabilities as a team?" asked the Hokage.

At that question, Kakashi eye smiled at the Hokage then said

"In terms of teamwork, they are more efficient than many teams of Chuunin that I have seen in action. I gave them the bell test again at the end of the training and they were able to retrieve one of the bells from me while I wasn't using my Sharingan Eye. All three of them are very capable leaders and brilliant strategists. Though they are not on par with a Nara, they're very good in their own rite. Naruto has displayed the uncanny ability to develop both complex and simple plans on the fly as well as in advance that the team then executes perfectly. Both Sakura and Sasuke have developed that aspect as well. All in all, they would keep many a Jounin on their toes for some time."

The Hokage nodded and sat in deep thought. _'It seems that team seven may become another of the great teams Konoha has produced. If they continue at this pace they may very well make Jounin within the first three years of their lives as Shinobi."_

"Well done Kakashi," Said the Hokage, "Now on to other business. Do you think that the customary D Rank missions given to new genin will be necessary for team seven?"

"No Hokage-sama, they are not necessary. However, it would be good for the team if the first few weeks of missions consist of D ranks only. Afterwards we will move on to something more challenging." Replied the Copy-nin.

"I'll trust your judgment on this Kakashi. You trained them well. If that's all, you're dismissed."

Kakashi quickly bowed before Shunshining away.

To put it simply, Naruto was bored. He had already gone home, visited all of his friends and spent some time eating ramen, and now he had nothing to do. He sat down on a bench while thinking of what to do.

'_Oy, Hikari-chan, do you have anything in mind that I could do. I'm bored here.'_

"**Hmm, how about we prank some one? It's been a while since you did a prank on somebody. Hmm, how about that pervert Ebisu. After all, he deserves a prank and he's a pervert and I HATE PERVERTS." **She screamed

'_You Know, that's not a bad idea Hikari-chan, and I think I know just what to do.'_

Finally set with a goal in mind, Naruto headed to Konohamaru's home to find his perverted tutor.

Naruto found him while he was instructing Konohamaru on the proper way to use a Shuriken.

"That's not the way Honorable Grandson. You have to let it fly with just a flick of the wrist like this. See?" he said while demonstrating to Konohamaru.

Konohamaru nodded and was about to try it out before he noticed Naruto in the clearing waving to him and he shouted

"Naruto ni-chan, you're back!"

"Yeah Konohamaru, I am. So what's the closet pervert been teaching you?" asked Naruto.

"He's just been showing me some useless stuff like how to throw a shuriken."

"Actually Konohamaru, that is actually one of the basic skills that all ninja's need to have. If you can't throw a shuriken properly, then you can't become a Ninja."

At this Konohamaru gasped, while Ebisu smirked.

"Not so useless now is it?" said Ebisu.

"No its not. But when you keep me here for four hours straight without a break you really think I'll learn that easily?" bit back Konohamaru.

"Really now?" said Naruto, a bit surprised that Ebisu would keep him for that long. "If that's the case, then how about a break? And in the mean time we spar."

"Yeah, pleeeeease Ebisu-sensei" begged Konohamaru.

"Sure, I just hope you don't go home crying when you lose." Taunted Ebisu.

"Sure." Replied Naruto.

With that they took their positions and readied themselves while Konohamaru was on the side looking at them.

"Everything goes except maiming and killing alright?" said Ebisu.

Naruto nodded his agreement then said

"First blood wins," and they began.

Ebisu stood while motioning Naruto to make his move.

"Are you sure you want that?" he asked, "well you better get ready"

He said as he made a familiar cross shaped seal and cried out _Kage Bunshin no Jutsu_. A few puffs of smoke later, 25 Naruto's filled the area and surrounded the Jounin.

He pushed his shades higher than they already were and said

"I'm a Jounin; I won't be beaten by such silly clones."

All of t he Naruto's smirked and then shouted _"Henge"_

A moment later, over 25 nude females could be seen of different figure and colour. They suddenly walked over to Ebisu while swaying their hips provocatively and said

"Ebisu-sama, will you play with us? Will you?" While they rubbed their bodies against him, some of the others moaned passionately.

Ebisu stared for the second time at this jutsu. He tried to maintain his self control and turned around, only to be greeted with some of them in some … questionable positions. He tried to stop the blood flow, but he couldn't. His last thought before flying back with a nosebleed was _'Can women really bend that way?'_

Naruto grinned at his work and then smiled lightly then said "Phase one Complete.

He then bent down next to Konohamaru and whispered something in his ear while Konohamaru nodded his head in agreement, then asked

"You got all of that Konohamaru?"

"Hai Ni-san."

"Ok, then lets get to work."

Half an hour later, the two boys could be seen grinning from ear to ear. They had completed their prank, had pictures to prove it and were very proud of their accomplishments.

Ebisu was now hanging upside down and tied to one of the poles in the center of town. He was stripped to only his boxers which had pictures of teddy bears on them; quite a hilarious spectacle. No one knew how Naruto had done it, but he had managed to get past everyone without them noticing and complete his prank. It seemed that if he didn't want to be noticed, he wouldn't be.

After admiring their work for a few more minutes, the two headed home. One other person was not too happy with that particular prank. For that matter, she was downright furious when Naruto used _Harem Jutsu. _It had, according to her, been a disgrace to any self respecting female and she wished he never used that technique again, unless absolutely necessary. Yes, Hikari was royally pissed and she was starting to give him a monster of a headache as punishment.

Sasuke and Sakura arrived at the appointed training ground at almost the same time. After exchanging pleasantries, they began a slight warm up by running around the training area together. A few minutes later, Naruto joined them and fell in but not before saying good morning.

At exactly 7am. Kakashi arrived into the area and greeted his team.

"Ohayou, Mina-san. It's good to see that you are all in high spirits this morning."

They all gathered near him to find out their duties for the day.

"Today," he began "We will be doing as many missions as we can. As I have told you before, we will be beginning with D rank missions and continue on from there. Are you ready?"

"Hai" they replied in unison.

With that they headed to the Hokage tower to get their missions for the day.

As they entered the Hokage Tower, Team eight was currently exiting the tower while Kiba was silently complaining about evil felines. Team stood in front of the Hokage then Kakashi spoke up.

"Good morning Hokage-sama, we're here for the day's missions."

"Alright Kakashi, we've got a few D ranks, how many do you think your team can handle?" asked the aged Hokage.

"I think we'll limit ourselves to three missions for today Hokage-sama. Is that alright?" he asked his team.

They all nodded in sync.

"If that's all, then here you go," said the Hokage while handing Kakashi five scrolls which contained their missions for the day.

With that team seven exited the tower and headed to their first destination; a small house belonging to an old woman. When they arrived, they were given the rest of the details by their sensei; they were supposed to paint her house for her then move on to their next mission.

The next five hours were spent completing the missions that they had collected from the Hokage earlier that day. At the end of the time, none of the three genin showed any signs of exhaustion, something that Kakashi was proud of as he monitored them as they made their way to the Hokage tower. Their lack of physical exhaustion however, may have been due to the fact that they didn't have to retrieve Tora; the Fire Lord wife's cat. He quivered just thinking of that dreaded mission.

As they continued on their way to the tower, Kakashi spoke up.

"Okay guys, right now I'm going to be giving the mission report to the Hokage. I want each of you to listen closely as I report to him because from next week, you will each be given a chance to take control of the mission and will be required to give the mission report at the end. Think you're up to it?" he asked while eye smiling at them.

"Whatever you throw at us" began Sakura

"We'll complete" continued Sasuke

"Believe it!" finished Naruto.

Although Kakashi was accustomed to his team, it still sometimes freaked him out the way they thought and acted as one sometimes. He simply smiled at them then they continued to the Hokage tower where Kakashi proceeded to give the mission report.

They then made their way to a restaurant where they had lunch and proceeded to training ground seven about an hour later.

"Today," began their Sensei, "we will be working on some more of our team manoeuvres and attacks. This will help you greatly aid you while in battle so it would be good if we learn these."

"Hai sensei." They replied together

"Okay. Sasuke, I want you to….."

That's how their day continued for the first three weeks of missions. They would meet up at seven in the morning do a couple of missions then have lunch then training in the afternoon.

Naruto had continued training regularly with Hikari in his free time and while asleep. His already high tactical and analytic ability continued to increase steadily. He had also stopped increasing his weights and focused on increasing his speed while wearing them and also getting accustomed to combat without them by practicing with Rock Lee, the only other genin who could match or surpass his speed that he knew of.

Lee's Sensei had once seen them sparring with their weights off and had proceeded to yell about the flames of youth and challenging his eternal rival to fan his youthful flames. Naruto had lost concentration during Gai's rant and had taken a few mean punches and kicks from Lee thus costing him to lose the spar.

The other members had continued training by themselves as well. After seeing the results of their two month training trip with Kakashi, they had pledged to better themselves.

Today would be the start of the fourth week that Team Seven started taking missions and though they would not express their views audibly, they had all agreed that they were a bit tired of the so called 'D rank' missions that they did on a daily basis. Though they had expected this after being briefed by their sensei, they were still a bit peeved from doing them.

As the team entered the Hokage's Office, Sakura crossed her fingers in hope of getting a better mission when Sarutobi spoke up.

"Ah, team seven. Good to see you again. You are here for your mission I presume?"

Kakashi nodded in response and was about to speak but the Hokage beat him to it.

"Hmm, we've got babysitting a couple of kids, tending to the Yamanaka's flower garden, feeding the Nara's deer's and.."

"Hokage-sama, if I may?" asked Kakashi. The Hokage nodded for him to continue so he did.

"Sir, I have been monitoring the progress of my team over the last few weeks and I know that as they are now, they are able to handle a C rank mission so if there are any available, would you be so kind as to pass it on to us?" finished Kakashi.

"Hmm" said Sarutobi as he sat deep in thought. _'I was wondering when you were going to request something higher, but I always thought that Sakura or Naruto would be the first to crack. I guess their training has been more than just preparing them physically.'_

"Ok Kakashi, I think we have one C rank that will suit your needs." He said while tossing a scroll towards him.

As he said this, all the members of team seven visible relaxed and Naruto thought '_no more chasing that cat'._

"The details of the mission are in there." He said.

"Thank you Hokage-sama" said Kakashi. "Okay guys, meet me at the west gate in 30 minutes and pack supplies for a week long mission."

"Hai" they replied in unison before Shunshining away.

30 minutes later, all of the team members and their sensei stood at the west gate waiting for their mission briefing.

"Ok, we are to head to a town on the border of Hi no Kuni to investigate and eliminate a group of bandits that has been giving the towns people some trouble. It should take us about seven hours to get there. Once in the town, we will have to speak to the Mayor as he will be able to provide more details. Any questions?"

"Hai," said Naruto, "are we expected to encounter any Shinobi on the way or during our mission?"

"Not necessarily Naruto. If we do, they will most likely Low C rank nins. Any more questions? Ok then, lets move out."

"I'll take point with Sakura behind me followed by Sasuke and Naruto will stay back. Lets head out."

And so they took to the trees to complete their first C rank mission.

A few hours later, the reached the town that they were heading to, Mayouma. As they made there way to the Mayor's office, the genin looked around the city taking in the different sights and sounds. A few minutes and a lot of walking later, Kakashi led them into the Mayors office who met with them immediately.

"Good evening sir, we are the Ninja that you requested from Konoha to aid in the elimination of the bandits that have been plaguing your town." Said Kakashi after bowing towards him.

"Hai, it's good to see that Konoha has responded so quickly. My name is Santana Magaroshi by the way." Said the Mayor. "As your leader may have informed you, we are having a bandit problem which began a little over a week ago. From the looks of it, they move in small groups of three to scout then strike with bigger forces. Some of the places that they have struck include some of our main stores, a school and one jewellery store. As longs as the items have value, they steal them and it's becoming quite a nuisance to us."

"Hm, do you have a map of the town available by any chance?" asked Kakashi.

The mayor nodded and rummaged through a drawer near him and presented it to Kakashi. Together, the two marked the places that had been struck by the bandits. Kakashi then folded the map and handed it to one of the genin. He turned to the mayor again and asked

"Magaroshi-san, have accommodations been prepared for us?"

"Hai, hai. He replied, "My secretary will take you to a guesthouse that was prepared for you. Now if you would be so kind, I have an appointment in a few minutes" with a wave of his hand, he dismissed them.

As they exited the room, a young woman approached them and led them to the guesthouse which was a few blocks away. After showing them the necessary areas, she left to continue her duties.

After settling in, team seven sat around the table and prepared to set out a plan.

"Alright, Sasuke, would you hand me that map that I gave you earlier. Thanks. Ok, from what I've seen so far, they seem to be moving from left to right hitting high end stores and the like that they come across. Now, these are the areas that have been hit" he said while pointing to the areas that were marked on the map.

"Sakura, from the information that we have here, where do you think they will be striking next?" he asked

"Well sensei, if they continue on their current pattern, they will strike one of the jewellery stores three miles south east of our current position. If we move quickly enough, we may be able to wrap up this mission in a few days because they are too sloppy and careless."

"You're right Sakura, that's the way its looks. Naruto, what's your recommended course of action?"

"A stakeout, we monitor them for some time for any activity in the expected areas. If what Magaroshi-san said is anything to go by, they will come to check out the place before attacking it in a group of three. From there, we will be able to follow them and deal with them as is required." Said Naruto.

"Good reasoning Naruto. Alright, I hope you were listening closely Sasuke cause you will be leading this mission."

Sasuke sat straight after hearing this. True their sensei had let them lead D rank missions for two weeks but this was on a whole different level. He was a bit apprehensive, but affirmative nods from his teammates washed away any doubt he had.

"So taicho" said Naruto "what will our plan be?"

Sakura and Kakashi tried hard not to laugh but in the end it was all in vain because when the turned around to face Sasuke, the look on his face was too much for them to hold it in any longer. Even Naruto had trouble maintaining his serious visage.

"Naruto" said Sasuke "If you call me that again I'll ensure it's the last thing you say"

"Sure thing taicho" replied Naruto before bursting into full blown laughter which Sasuke later joined in.

After calming themselves down for a bit, they put a plan together that they would work with. The same night, they would go to the general area where they expected the bandits to strike next. If nothing was found out, they would keep looking until they found one of them and follow them back to their hideout, wherever it may be. From there they would proceed to eliminate the threat to the town by disabling their opponents. After a bit of deliberation, they decided to take a short rest before heading out.

An hour later, they were ready to begin so they headed to the expected area. Upon arrival, each of them changed their appearance by using _Henge_. Sasuke then instructed Naruto to do the same for some of his clone and have them henged as civilians. Naruto ordered them to dispel when the found some valuable information then had them spread out in different areas.

A lot of time passed as the Shinobi maintained watch. They had been at it from evening to the early hours of the morning and were ready to head home to freshen up. Sasuke signalled everyone and they met up on one of the rooftops. They decided to head home and have Naruto's clones take care of the surveillance for the time being.

They followed the same routine the next day with the same results. On the third night of their stakeout, one of Naruto's Bunshins dispelled, giving him the knowledge that it acquired during its lifetime. It had seen a group of three men walking together while speaking in hushed tones. If he had been any ordinary person, he would not have been able to make out what they were saying, however, thanks to his enhanced senses from Hikari, he could hear them.

"It seems like the boss wants us to check out the next place on his hit list." the first man said

Man no. 2 "Where is it Ziggy?" the other one replied

"It's two blocks away, and you know you shouldn't call me by my name baka." said the man now identified as Ziggy.

"Sorry Ziggy." apologised the second man.

"Shut up idiot!" hissed Ziggy. Now let's get going because the boss wants to strike tomorrow."

"Hai" the other two replied as the headed in the direction of their next target.

When Naruto went through the information, he signalled his teammates and they gathered together for a brief meeting. After relaying what he learned to them, Sasuke took control of the situation.

"Okay guys, here's what we're goanna do, Naruto inform one of your Bunshins to take the place of the one that dispelled."

"Already done"

"Good, now, the rest of us will monitor them from inside and outside the store. Kakashi-sensei, you will be on the outside along with Naruto. Sakura, you and I will be on the inside. When the exit, we will follow them from a safe distance and find out where they are situated. Depending on their numbers, we will strike or fall back. Everyone clear?"

"Hai" the three others replied.

"Good, then let's move out."

As quickly as they appeared, they disappeared, each tending to their own delegated task.

An hour and a half later, the four Shinobi were following the bandits to their hideout in groups of two; Sakura with Sasuke and Naruto with Kakashi. The bandits walked on for a long while before turning off the road and heading into the forest. They made their way to through the forest and walked for about a mile before they reached a clearing with one large tent and a few smaller ones surrounding it. Sasuke called for a stop, so they stopped and met to plot their course of action.

"We need an estimate of the number of people in the camp. Naruto, would you be as kind as to _Henge_ a _Bunshin_ into something that flies and get the information for us. Thanks."

Naruto complied and set the Bunshin to its task. At this, Kakashi smiled, it seemed that his students were ready to take orders from each other without question, something that would no doubt be helpful.

"While Naruto's Bunshin is scouting, we're going to wait on the Intel he receives. When he does, we will either move in or retreat."

They then waited in silence for a few minutes before Naruto spoke up in a cold monotonous voice.

"There are currently 43 persons present. The leader is a nuke-nin from the mist and doesn't seem to have any special abilities. His chakra level is high Genin so he might be a little skilled, nothing we can't take care of unless he was suppressing his chakra to a level where I couldn't detect it."

"How do we progress Sasuke?" asked Kakashi

"Here's the plan. We attack now. Naruto will have two of his exploding clones advance into the camp and get as close as possible to the centre of the main area. Have them _Henge_ into some scantily clad woman or something to get the guys attention. In the meantime, the four of us will each cover different areas to cut off any exit points. When the clones are in position, they will signal us by exploding. This will send the camp into panic and they will try to flee. That's where we come in. we will disable all opponents who try to escape. Refrain from killing any of them if possible but if you must, do it as quick as possible. The leader is to be taken alive. Remember we do this as quickly as possible when we're done; we retrieve all valuables in the camp. Anything to add Kakashi-sensei?"

"Nothing at all Sasuke. Alright, you heard the man, let's move out."

They quickly disappeared and went about doing what they were told to do.

Naruto headed to the south end of the camp after making the _Bunshins_ and having them distract the bandits.

As the clones headed to the centre of the camp, one of the men standing guard said

"Well hello beautiful, what are you doing all the way out here?"

"Well you see, me and my friend Naruko got lost and ended up here. Would you mind helping us to find our way home?"

"Sure thing Honey lets just go see the boss first so he can clear everything."

With that he extended his hand to her which she took and motioned her friend to follow suit. As they walked through the area, many of the others stopped what they were doing to ogle the two women passing by. A few even tried to grope them. When the entered the main tent, the area was so crowded that they had to force their way through.

When the boss laid eyes on them he instantly stood up and walked over to them.

"What do we have here, two pretty ladies lost in the woods? You shouldn't wander too far away from home you know, someone might just find you and use you for their own benefit." He finished with a lecherous grin.

After reciting their story to him he smiled and said "Boys, it seem like we get to have some fun today."

They all erupted in laughter and started to converge on the two women. As soon as they were cornered they smirked and said two words.

"_Bunshin Bakuha!"_

The Bandits didn't know what hit them. One second they were about to ravage the two women, the next they were flying through the air without any coherent thoughts.

At the different points, the four members of team seven moved into action. One by one they took down the remaining bandits. In ten minutes, they had completed their primary objective and had disabled all of the bandits then tied then up. The leader was being tied up by Kakashi with special Chakra absorbing rope that was sure to hold him. The remaining members of the team went through the different tents searching for any valuables that could be returned and found most of them intact. After putting them together, Naruto sealed them into a sealing scroll that he had. They then made their way to their sensei and rounded the bandits together. After securing the leader, they made their way towards the town.

The mayor was quite happy when the Shinobi came to his home late in the evening with the leader of the bandits in tow. He extended his sincere thanks to them and told them that they could remain at the guest house for the remainder of the week but they refused saying that they needed to get back as soon as possible.

The following day, team seven said their goodbyes to the mayor and continued on their way home. In a couple of hours, they were at the front gates and entered without any problems. They then made their way to the Hokage tower to deliver the mission report.

"Team Seven returning from their C rank mission Hokage-sama" said Sasuke

Sarutobi nodded and motioned for him to continue

"The town of Mayouma is now cleared of the bandits. When we arrived, we were briefed by the mayor who provided lodging for us. In a few days, the threat was eliminated and the leader, who was a nuke-nin from Mist was apprehended as well as all of his accomplices."

"Very good. Well done team seven. Your payment will be made available to you through your bank accounts. I expect a written report on my desk in 24 hours. If that is all, you're dismissed. All four of them bowed and exited the Hokage tower.

"How about some food guys, my treat."

"Raaaameeeeeeeen." Shouted Naruto as he rushed of to the Ichiraku ramen stand leaving the others coughing from the cloud of dust that he left. Even if he had changed, he still had some of the qualities that they all knew and loved. It was what made him Naruto.

Over the course of the next month, Team seven continued doing missions and training. Since their last C rank mission, they had done three others, all inside of the village. In the morning, they would do missions and in the afternoon train their butts off.

As they headed to the Hokage tower, all three of the Genin wondered if they would be getting another C rank mission anytime soon. They had been working hard over the past few months and felt that they were ready for something more challenging.

When they entered the Hokage's office, Kakashi took to the front.

"Hokage-sama, we are here for our mission."

"Hai"

"Hey Iruka-sensei, how's it been?" asked Naruto as he saw his past academy teacher assisting the Hokage in handing out missions.

"Oh, hey Naruto. Its been good. I hope you haven't been giving Kakashi-san too much trouble?" he asked hopefully.

"Nah, I've been behaving myself." He responded

"Hmm that's good to know."

With that they ended the conversation as Iruka was told by the Sandaime to look for a mission for the team.

"Lets see, we have finding the Fire Lord Wife's cat, trimming some hedges, painting a fence and cleaning the park. Which would you like?" he asked only to see the questioning gaze that Kakashi gave him when he lifted his head.

"I don't think I made myself clear, I would like a C Rank mission for my team."

"What!" exploded Iruka, "That's preposterous. Don't you know that your team consists of only genin and they are only allowed to do D rank missions?"

The Sandaime only chuckled when he heard Iruka's outburst.

"Don't worry Iruka; Team seven is perfectly cable of handling a C rank mission. They have proven this in the past and I'm sure they won't disappoint you."

"But Hokage-sama..."

He was cut off by Naruto

"Ah Iruka-sensei we can handle it no problem."

"Yes sensei," continued Sakura "We've already completed four C rank missions"

"And we have yet to fail any of them." Said Sasuke

"And they're not gonna start now" Finished Kakashi.

"Have a little faith in them Iruka," said the Sandaime "they'll Surprise you." _'They sure did surprise me' _he thought.

"Ok fine" he said with a resigned sigh "Just be careful ok."

They all nodded. With that he took a scroll from the pile and looked it over while nodding.

"Here you go" he said.

Kakashi opened the scroll and quickly read the contents then said that they accepted. Nodding to him the Sandaime Called out

"Please fetch Mr. Tazuna"

* * *

And that's a wrap.

Let me know what you all think so please review. Next chapter as you may have noticed will feature the mission to Wave. Also open to all your opinions.

Current poll of future chapters; Ninja Clash in the Land of Snow is in the lead with 84% of the votes

Jutsu Translations

_Shunshin_ – Body Flicker Technique

_Bunshin Bakuha – _Clone Explosion

_Henge no Jutsu – _Transformation Technique

_Bunshin – _Clone

R & R


	9. Chapter 9

The Yellow Maelstrom

Summary

Shortly after failing the graduation exam, Naruto steals the forbidden scroll and finds a scroll addressed to him inside. Armed with it, he will strive to become the best as his heritage is revealed to him and he rocks the Shinobi world as a force to be reckoned with.

Thanks again to all of you who continue to review and read. Please continue to do so. Hope you all enjoy this chapter. Didn't mention what the pairing is I feel like letting the new readers wait a few chapters.

Remember, I don't own Naruto.

"Normal Speech"

'_Thoughts'_

"**Kyuubi Influenced Naruto or Kyuubi"**

'_**Kyuubi Thoughts'**_

_+++++Flashback+++++_

_Jutsus being used/ reading letter, note_

* * *

"_Please fetch Mr. Tazuna."_

All the genin members of team seven waited patiently as their client was fetched. They had never been on a bodyguard mission before now, so they were all excited, though it didn't show.

A few moments later, a dark grey haired man who smelled of sake entered the room while staggering. He took some time to steady his self before facing team Seven.

"You can't be serious; these are the brats that will be guarding me? They just look like a bunch of super babies to me." Said Tazuna

The Genin bristled at the comment but stood still. The Sandaime's eyebrow rose at the display. He had at least expected Naruto to respond violently to the old man's comments. He was about to speak but Naruto beat him to it.

"Sir, I would appreciate it if you didn't disrespect our team. We don't take kindly to such mannerisms." He finished as calmly as possible surprising the Sandaime with the amount of restraint he showed. True, they had all undergone intense training, but to go from a loud, obnoxious, ramen loving idiot to a calm, collected, and competent Shinobi who still loved ramen in such a short time was phenomenal. Iruka was also having similar thoughts.

"What ever gaki, I'm the super bridge builder Tazuna and I expect super protection from you brats as I build my bridge." Said Tazuna

Kakashi looked at Naruto then handed him the scroll that the Sandaime gave him earlier with the details of the mission. Naruto quickly read it and committed everything to memory then assumed command.

"Ok, we will be heading to the Land of Waves to escort and protect the bridge builder here until the completion of his bridge. We are to expect bandits and small time thugs on the way. No Shinobi presence is expected however be ready. We leave in 30 minutes at the main gate so get ready and pack for a month long journey."

"Hai" the three other members of the team replied in unison. Saluting the Hokage, they all left via _Shunshin,_ but not before informing Tazuna where the Main gate was.

The Hokage and Iruka were still shocked from Naruto's earlier display and even more so now. _'How did Kakashi do it?'_ they both thought.

30 minutes later, three of the members of team seven were at the main gate waiting on Tazuna and their third member as they seemed to be running late. A few moments later, two figures were seen walking towards them.

When Naruto and Tazuna arrived, Naruto quickly took command.

"It will take us approximately three days to get to wave so if we want to make good time lets head out. Kakashi-sensei, you will take point while Sakura and Sasuke flank him on either side. I'll take rear guard. Everyone ready? Then let's head out." He commanded

The group travelled for the first day and a half in relative ease. There were no disturbances on their journey. After getting ready to head out on the third day, they assumed their positions and continued their journey. After walking for a few miles, Kakashi spotted a puddle on the edge of the road. _'Hmm, seems like we have trouble. Should be nothing that the guys can't handle so I'll leave it to them,' _thought Kakashi.

When he turned around, he noticed that all of his students seemed to have noticed that the puddle wasn't really that but a poorly placed Genjutsu. Quickly nodding to them, he and Naruto changed positions with Naruto up front and him taking the rear guard.

They passed the puddle without incident but about 20 feet away from it; commotion suddenly broke out and caused them to halt.

All of them with the exception of Kakashi turned around armed expecting an attack. What they saw shocked them. Their Sensei was trapped by a long, spiked chain that was held by two nuke-nin from the mist.

"One down" the one on the left said in a raspy voice as they proceeded to rips Kakashi to shreds. Blood spluttered every which way as the chain freed itself from Kakashi's remains

"Two four to go," said the other member of the mist duo in an equally raspy voice.

Tazuna was on the edge of a panic attack at looked at the genin with a scared face as if pleading with them to do something. Sensing his panic and fear, Naruto spoke up.

"Tazuna-san, we will protect you, but at the end of this we expect the entire truth." He said in a cold, monotone voice that the rest of the team had dubbed his mission persona. His piercing blue eyes did noting to lessen Tazuna's fears as they seemed to gaze into the depths of his very soul.

Tazuna, although scared, looked confused and thought that the brat was crazy. Their sensei had just been killed by those guys and he was talking about protecting him! He was broken from his thoughts by Naruto speaking.

"Sakura, guard Tazuna, Sasuke and I will handle these guys. Sasuke lets go."

In a blur the two of them disappeared from view and appeared near the two attackers.

"Now tell me, what are the demon brothers doing attacking our team?" asked Naruto in the same monotone voice.

The two attackers were amazed that mere genin knew who they were. The widening of their eyes was evidence enough of it. Neither of the brothers, Gouzu or Meizu gave any response to the blonde haired Shinobi.

"Well then, lets go."

Looking towards Sasuke, he communicated one message to him. _Separate them_. In a split second, the two began their assault on the Demon brothers. Naruto taking the one on the left, gouzu and Sasuke taking the one on the right, meizu.

Sasuke sped towards Meizu with speed that seemed unnatural for a genin. In the blink of an eye, he threw a kunai towards their chain and it got stuck in the trunk of a tree. The brothers, realizing that their chain would only hold them back, released it and fell to their secondary weapons; the poisoned gauntlets on their hands.

Each of the brothers wore a dangerous sneer on their faces and rushed Naruto and Sasuke. Sasuke being the closest to his opponent was the first to jump into action. He settled into a ready stance as Meizu came towards him. He cocked his fist and ran to meet him half way there. With a flick of his wrist, he sent a few shuriken towards Meizu who swatted them away with his gauntlet. Sasuke wasted no time and jumped forward to engage him in battle with his kunai drawn. They went at it for a few seconds with neither getting the upper hand. Suddenly, Sasuke flipped back and began forming seals while in the air. As soon as he landed, a shout of '_Katon: Goukakyuu no Jutsu' _was heard as a ball of fire was expelled from Sasuke's mouth. Realizing his predicament, Meizu mentally counted off the few techniques that he knew and came up with what he thought was the perfect counter. Doing the seals as fast as he could he shouted out _Suiton: Teppoudama' _as he sent a water bullet towards the fire attack.

Expecting an easy victory, he let his guard slip for a short while, but that was all Sasuke needed. Meizu's water jutsu may have won over his fire, but it didn't stop the chakra enhanced kunai that were hidden within the fire with wires attached to them. Under the cover of the steam, five kunai found themselves lodged in the arms, legs and stomach of Meizu.

Meizu gasped when he felt the impact of the Kunai's being lodged inside of him. Both of his arms and legs were rendered useless as his arms hung limply at his side. He slowly felt his self falling and looked up to see Sasuke with an indifferent expression on his face.

"You should never underestimate your opponent, its things like that that get you killed" said Sasuke.

He walked over towards Meizu intent on finishing him off, but was interrupted by a loud shout.

Naruto stared at his opponent Gouzu with a cold, hard stare.

"Before we begin," started Naruto "Tell me, why are you fighting us?"

Gouzu grunted and answered "We're fighting because we have orders to assassinate the bridge builder and any obstacles that stand in our way. You are just unfortunate enough to be an obstacle."

"If that's the case, I guess I can't convince you to back down." Replied Naruto

With that he settled into a loose stance and waited to Gouzu to come to him. Gouzu realized this and rushed forward intent on finishing the fight in one blow. As soon as Naruto was within his striking range, Gouzu took a swipe at his head with the intention of decapitating him. Naruto used a kunai to block the blow. Gouzu was surprised with the strength of the genin. He had blocked his gauntlet with a mere kunai without using any chakra!

"Hmph, looks like you've got spunk kid. Let's see what you can really do."

With that he leapt forward to engage Naruto in Taijutsu. They exchanged blow after blow in blurs of movement to those looking. Gouzu shot towards Naruto and fired a punch towards his torso area. Naruto sidestepped and tried kicking him in his chest but he saw it coming and evaded it quite easily. Taking advantage of Naruto's imbalanced state, he dove forward and struck Naruto in the left arm with his poisoned gauntlet. Momentarily shocked by the attack, Naruto stood rooted in his position and was subjected to a few more brutal attacks from Gouzu. In the span of one and a half minutes, the match was over, and a bleeding Naruto lay on the ground panting while trying to keep his eyelids open. Meizu looked at him grunted

"Next time, don't try acting tough when you can't back it up," he said.

Naruto simply looked at him before crawling over and latching unto his leg. Gouzu lifted his armed hand and said to him,

"Say goodbye genin"

"Sure," replied the heavily injured Naruto "boom!"

With that, the Naruto that was clutching Gouzu's leg exploded leaving nothing in its wake. 30 feet away, Naruto stepped out from the bushes unharmed and in perfect condition looking for any traces of Gouzu. Looking closely, he narrowed his eyes at what he saw. Where Gouzuu should have been was bits of wood that had been used in a _Kawarimi_. It seemed that he had escaped the explosion in the nick of time. He scanned the surrounding area and noticed some movement a few feet from his current position. The figure was Gouzu who was limping trying to get to safety. It seemed like the explosion wasn't entirely unsuccessful.

"Well Gouzu," started Naruto "it seems like you're not as good as the bingo book stated."

"Whatever kid, stop sending clones to fight your battles for you," Retorted Gouzu.

"The same is true for you" said Naruto while flicking a kunai towards Gouzu's position. It struck him in the forehead and he dissolved into a puddle of water signifying that it was a _Mizu Bunshin_.

The real Gouzu stepped into the open facing Naruto.

"Let take this up a notch" he said

Dashing at each other the two once again went at it with their fists and weapons. Neither of them seemed to be getting the upper hand.

Gouzu turned to regard the battle between his brother and the other leaf-nin. Things were not looking good for Meizu. He saw his brother get impaled by five kunai and begin falling to the ground. He looked on as the leaf-nin pulled out his kunai again, intent on killing his brother.

He lurched forward attempting to save his brother with a loud cry of

"Noooooooooo,"

Naruto noticed the change in direction and acted accordingly. It seemed like Gouzu was going to try to kill Sasuke before he finished his brother off. Moving even faster than before, he appeared next to Gouzu, who was only about five feet away from striking Sasuke.

Gouzu's advance suddenly stopped as quickly as it began. Moments later, he slowly fell to the ground with a loud thud and a kunai protruding from his neck.

Next to where he was standing, Naruto stood with an expressionless face after killing the nin. His blue eyes seemed even colder than ever; they looked like they could freeze hell over. He turned his gaze over to the other brother, Meizu and spoke to him

"If you endanger my comrades, the same fate awaits you, but yours won't be a quick." He said, while leaking out some killing intent.

"Sasuke, I'll take over from here. I'll deal with him while you get the necessary information from Tazuna. It seems like he lied about the mission." He finished with a cold glare towards said man.

"Hai," replied Sasuke.

As he was about to make his way to the bridge builder, Kakashi suddenly appeared next to the bridge builder, momentarily frightening him out of his wits.

"Naruto, Sakura and I will deal with Tazuna while you and Sasuke take care of the rouge nin."

They both nodded and went towards their prisoner whom they had securely tied up. This was one of the areas that none of the team members liked but excelled at nonetheless; Torture and Interrogation. Even Sakura could do it but became queasy most of the times.

The two male genin took the prisoner and went a short ways into the bushes while their sensei questioned the client.

Some time later, the two returned and relayed the information that they got to the rest of the team. It wasn't much but they got some info from him before he bit on a suicide capsule that was inside of his mouth.

They found through a Sharingan induced Genjutsu that he worked for Momochi Zabuza and was sent to kill the bridge builder with his brother. When he was finally able to break the genjutsu, he bit on the pill and killed his self.

Kakashi and Sakura during the talk with Tazuna found that the only reason he requested a C rank was because they couldn't pay for a higher ranked mission. He said that ever since Gatou came to the wave, the people began getting poorer and started losing hope. That's why he was building the bridge; to help bring back hope to his people and open new trade routes.

After conferring with each other, the four Shinobi decided to continue on, provided that the money be sent to them for an A ranked mission since Zabuza was likely to show up. He quickly agreed and they continued on their way.

An ominous feeling settled on those travelling together, it seemed like their next opponent would not be so easy to defeat.

* * *

That's a wrap tune in next time for the second instalment of the wave saga… tomorrow!

Translation time!

_Katon: Goukakyuu no Jutsu – _Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique

_Suiton: Teppoudama – _Water Style: Water Bullet

_Mizu Bunshin no Jutsu – _Water Clone Technique

_Bunshin Bakuha – _Shadow Clone Explosion

Well that's all for now. R & R


	10. Chapter 10

The Yellow Maelstrom

Summary

Shortly after failing the graduation exam, Naruto steals the forbidden scroll and finds a scroll addressed to him inside. Armed with it, he will strive to become the best as his heritage is revealed to him and he rocks the Shinobi world as a force to be reckoned with.

Thanks again to all of you who continue to review and read. Happy reading.

Remember, I don't own Naruto.

"Normal Speech"

'_Thoughts'_

"**Kyuubi Influenced Naruto or Kyuubi"**

'_**Kyuubi Thoughts'**_

_+++++Flashback+++++_

_Jutsus being used/ reading letter, note_

* * *

Mission to Wave Part 2

The group had been travelling for a few hours into the third day when they reached the seashore. Tazuna, having prearranged transportation, walked up front and went through three different whistles then stopped and reversed the order. A few minutes later, a soft pat pat could be heard as a rowboat could be seen approaching them which they boarded and were on their way.

As they travelled across the water, a large bridge was seen on their right. All of the Shinobi were surprised that the drunk they were escorting was capable of building such a massive structure. When Tazuna saw them looking at the bridge he spoke up.

"That's why Gatou wants me dead, because this bridge will bring back the hope that our people once had."

"It really is a beauty," said Sakura in awe.

"Indeed," said the owner of the rowboat "But we should be more quiet, after all, Gatou controls the seas. We wouldn't want him spotting us."

The rest of the voyage over the water was spent in silence and apart from the occasional glance that Kakashi was sending towards Naruto, nothing seemed out of the ordinary.

Kakashi was concerned about Naruto. Since the battle with the demon brothers, he had not spoken other than when delegating responsibility to someone. He also seemed to have the same look he did whenever he was in battle; devoid of emotion. He also spoke in that monotone voice as well. To tell the truth, Kakashi was unsure what to do. He knew exactly what caused this; his first kill, but they were in the middle of a dangerous mission and he couldn't afford Naruto to make mistakes, however unlikely that may be considering his disposition. Thinking of it he rationalized that he could not make the situation better while on the boat so he resolved to speak with him as soon as they arrived at Tazuna's home.

Naruto meanwhile, had blocked of everyone unless necessary. Not even Hikari could get through to him. It seemed like killing one of the Demon brothers had more of an effect than with most people.

A few minutes later, they arrived on the other side and disembarked after thanking the boat owner. They then settled in formation with Sasuke up front, Sakura and Naruto to the side and Kakashi in the rear with Tazuna in the middle.

The group travelled for some time until Sakura Threw a kunai into the bushes. Approaching it cautiously, she parted the bush and gasped. In front of her was a frightened rabbit with snow white fur. She was about to reach for it but stopped and turned to face Naruto.

He shook his head indicating that her hunch was right.

'_What is a rabbit with that colour fur doing out during the summer. It should be brown.'_

Naruto then spoke up.

"That rabbit must have been raised at home for use with a _Kawarimi no jutsu_. We'll need to be more alert from now."

As soon as he finished speaking, Kakashi shouted out for them to duck. As soon as they did, with Naruto and Sasuke both reaching out for the Bridge builder and Sakura dropping on her own, a large sword flew overhead and got stuck horizontally on a nearby tree. A moment later a figure appeared standing on the sword. He wore ninja boots, blue shin high pants and no shirt. He also wore bandages covering the lower half of his face similar to Kakashi as well as a slashed Kirigakure headband.

He smirked then spoke up

"No wonder the demon brothers lost, they were facing off against Sharingan no Kakashi, A rank Nin of Konoha. I've got an old man to kill so I guess I'll have to get serious for you."

Expecting a response from Kakashi, he was surprised that it was a blond haired kid that answered.

"Zabuza Momochi, A rank missing Nin of Kirigakure. Wanted for attempted assassination of the Mizukage with a bounty of 20 million ryō for his head. Kakashi-sensei, he's yours. Sasuke, Sakura, defensive formation delta."

As soon as he finished speaking, he formed a _Kage Bunshin_ and the four of them surrounded Tazuna. Through out Naruto's speech, Zabuza was highly amused that he was so well known.

"Well Kakashi, it seems like you've got a genin team, and a good one at that. They're gonna die nonetheless," Finished Zabuza with a dangerous smirk while letting out a large amount of killing intent.

"Not if I have anything to say about it," said Kakashi who had been silent since Zabuza's arrival. He turned to the genin and saw that they were keeping up quite well against the killing intent. "I don't let my comrades die" he said while lifting his headband to show his Sharingan eye.

When he turned towards Zabuza, he took a firm stance and stood ready.

"Ah, the fabled Sharingan of the famous Uchiha clan with which you copied over 1000 techniques. Let's see how you fare against me," said a confident Zabuza.

"Indeed," said Kakashi and promptly threw a kunai towards Zabuza. Zabuza dodged it but didn't expect an explosive tag attached to it to go off at that exact moment. Luckily, he moved his sword, Kubikiri Houcho, in time to stop any injury.

"Seems like your eager to go to your death." He said, "If that's the case let's go"

Quickly running through some hand seals he called out

"_Kirigakure no jutsu"_

A thick mist suddenly rolled out onto the area and Zabuza seemed to disappear but his voice still sounded like he was everywhere at once.

"Did you know…" He started "…that there are eight choices?"

Each of the genin was trying to pinpoint the location of the voice using their ears and was failing.

"Liver, lungs, spine, clavical vein, neck vein, brain, kidneys, heart, so many to choose from." He finished with an insane sounding chuckle.

"I think I'll choose neck," said a voice from behind Sakura.

As soon as the voice finished speaking, a splash was head, indicating that the _Mizu Bunshin _had been dealt with by Sakura with a kunai across the stomach.

"Impressive Kakashi, it seems like your brats can stand up to my _Mizu Bunshins_ which have 1 tenth of my full strength." Said Zabuza "But it won't matter, cause their all going to die"

As soon as he said this, his gigantic sword came swinging towards the genin intent on decapitating them in one swing. His advance was stopped midway by Kakashi with a chakra enforced kunai.

"You'll have to get through me first, Zabuza," said Kakashi as he looked up at Zabuza, Sharingan eye blazing.

Zabuza leapt away as Kakashi attempted to nick him with the kunai. He missed but continued on with his attack while pushing Zabuza away from the rest of the party.

The two rushed forward towards each other and engaged in a fierce fast paced battle with Kunai against sword. Loud clinks were the only indication of the battle and the genin were hard pressed to make out anything within the mist. Sasuke had already tried activating his Sharingan but it proved useless. Sakura was faring no better. Naruto had tried stretching his sense of smell towards them but could not make out anything. He did however make and interesting discovery; there was another spectator to the battle. Turning around, he looked in the direction of the presence and sent a pointed look as if saying '_I know you're there'._ As to whether or not they were friend or foe, he was unsure, but he stayed alert nonetheless.

While the younger members of team seven were trying to get a good look at the battle, the two ninjas continued to go at each other. Zabuza, finally having enough, jumped back to stand on the nearby water. Kakashi quickly followed him.

Seeing Kakashi charging, he ran through a series of seals the said

"_Suiton: Mizu Kamikiri" _while slamming his foot on top of the water surface. A Wall of water shot up and travelled towards Kakashi and an incredible speed.

Kakashi thought quickly and thought up the perfect counter.

"_Katon:_ _Goukakyuu no Jutsu" _he said then exhaled a steady ball of fire towards the incoming wall of water.

When the two techniques collided, a large amount of steam enveloped the area. As the two fighters waited for the steam to clear off, Zabuza wondered whether or not his attack had harmed Kakashi. A few moments later he saw a figure standing about 20 meters away unharmed. _'He's better than I thought' _Thought Zabuza _'Lets take it up a notch.'_

Going through another set of complex hand seals, Zabuza finished his technique and called out _"Suiton: Suiryuudan no Jutsu"_ Looking towards Kakashi, he was surprised to see his hands were on the bird seal that and that he said the exact same technique as Zabuza; only a fraction of a second later.

Some way away from the battle, a robed figure dropped lightly on a branch and continued to focus on the battle more intently while casting a curious glance toward one of the genin; specifically the blond haired one.

The two water dragons fought each other for dominance with neither gaining the upper hand. Zabuza and Kakashi met once again with a clash right next to the water dragons as they battled with kunai and sword exchanging blow for blow before jumping away. After the water dragons lunged at each other countless times, they finally took one last charge at each other which resulted in both of them being destroyed.

Zabuza was stumped. _'Is this the ability of the Sharingan? To think that from such a distance he was able to copy my techniques'_. The two then ran around a circular motion before suddenly stopping and raising one hand and placing the other in a half ram seal literally mirroring each other. Zabuza's eyes widened. '_My movement' _thought Zabuza while stretching out his upraised hand '_is being perfectly predicted by him. Is he reading my mind?'_

"You won't catch me off guard this time" said Zabuza as he did one hand seal. Looking up at Kakashi, he was surprised to notice that their hands were in the exact same seal.

'_What? How can this be!' _he thought exasperated. '_This guy…'_

"Has such unpleasant eyes, right?" said Kakashi

Zabuza's eyes widened. _'Can he…'_

"Hear my thoughts?" finished Kakashi

"What you're doing is nothing original!" said Kakashi and Zabuza at the same time with their hands still on the first seal. "You can't beat me you monkey bastard!" They both said together once again surprising Zabuza.

Continuing the seals, Zabuza glared at Kakashi and said

"I'll make it so you never open that copycat mouth of yours again!" When he completed the final seal, he looked at Kakashi and was stunned when he saw his own shadow behind Kakashi

"That's… Me?" he asked, unsure of what to make of the situation.

'_This can't be' _thought Zabuza _'This must be some kind of Genjutsu'_

So caught up was he that he only came to when Kakashi called out the name of the jutsu

"_Suiton: Daibakufu no Jutsu!" _said Kakashi

"N- Nani?" said Zabuza ask the water picked up speed and headed towards him.

Too shocked and unprepared to do anything, he took the attack head on and ended up knocked against a tree bare holding on to consciousness. When the water subsided a little, Zabuza suddenly felt a pain in his leg and hands. Looking up he saw Kakashi above him with his Sharingan still exposed.

"This is the end," said Kakashi in a serious tone.

"Why, can you see the future?" asked Zabuza, afraid for his life.

"Yes, and I foresee your death," said Kakashi while raising his kunai

The instant he completed his statement, two needles buried themselves into Zabuza's neck killing him immediately.

"You were right, he did die," said a masked figure standing on a branch some distance away.

Kakashi jumped down and checked Zabuza's pulse and confirmed the kill before turning to the figure.

"I was wondering," said Kakashi, "when you were going to come out Hunter-san"

"I've been chasing after Zabuza for quite some time now, and you provided me with the perfect opportunity to kill him. I thank you for your assistance." Said the hunter-nin

All the while the hunter-nin was speaking; Kakashi was walking over to his Genin squad who had come to join him."

"No problem, Hunter-san. It is your duty after all," said Kakashi.

"Hai," replied the Hunter-nin. "Now if you will excuse me, this body has many secrets and as such I must dispose of it."

Kakashi nodded and the hunter-nin _Shunshin-ed _next to Zabuza then _Shunshin-ed _away.

"Well guys," said Kakashi while eye smiling after placing his forehead Protector in the proper position, "I think we should head to Tazuna's home now."

"Hai sensei," they all replied then setting out towards Tazuna's house.

Two hours later, they arrived at Tazuna's house. They would have made it sooner, but had to go slower to accommodate Kakashi who was low on chakra. When they arrived, it was nearing dawn so they settled in quickly and had something to eat which was prepared by Tazuna's daughter, Tsunami. The rest of the evening passed quickly and in a few hours, it was time for bed. Naruto and Sasuke roomed together, Sakura on her own as well as Kakashi.

Sasuke was a bit unnerved as he lay down on his bed trying to sleep. Earlier, before they had gone to bed, Sakura had said she felt as though something was wrong with the way the hunter-nin had acted. First of all was the hunter-nin's weapon of choice; sendon needles. These were hardly ever used in battle to kill someone. Also was the fact that the hunter-nin didn't destroy the body on the spot. Standard protocol, regardless of country, required that the head be cut off as proof of the kill and the body destroyed onsite.

Neither of these happened. The Hunter-nin had left with the body intact. They could only come up with one conclusion; the hunter-nin was Zabuza's accomplice and had placed him in a near death state. He was irritated that Zabuza got away so easily but in the end thought that it couldn't be helped. They would just have to be more prepared next time, which would probably be in a week if their calculations were correct.

Naruto got up from his bed feeling restless. Since the encounter with the Demon brothers, he had been unable to get a decent night's sleep. Making his way over to the door, he glanced at his sleeping teammate before stepping outside into the corridor then making his way outside through a window.

When he got outside, he just wandered through the forest near the house for a short time before laying flat down with his face towards the sky. He just stayed and stared at the sky.

He still felt terrible from killing one f the Demon brothers. No matter how much he told his self it was necessary, he still felt terrible. _'It this what it means to be a Shinobi? Killing with no remorse? Isn't that what the code says, that Shinobi are mere tools to be used by their village and clients? But why does it feel so wrong? Should I be killing my emotions so I don't feel the guilt?'_

At that moment, he felt a presence enter the clearing. When he sat up, he saw his sensei walking towards him at a leisurely pace. Finally making it to him, Kakashi spoke up.

"How are you feeling Naruto?"

"I'm great sensei," replied Naruto with a slight forced grin on his face.

"Naruto, I mean how are you? Since taking Gouzu's life you've been different. What's up Naruto?"

Naruto just sighed and turned his face away from his sensei with a downcast expression.

"I guess nothing gets past you sensei," said Naruto, sighing again.

They sat in silence for sometime before Naruto spoke

"Is it always like this? Will I always have to deal with this kind of guilt after every kill?" he asked in a silent voice that was uncharacteristic of him.

Kakashi looked at him for some time before answering the question

"No Naruto, it won't always be like this"

At that statement, Naruto visibly relaxed. Kakashi sighed dreading the next statement he would make but knew that Naruto needed to know this.

"It gets worse."

Naruto's eyes widened at that.

"It should never be easy to take a life Naruto. The day it becomes easy for you to take a life, is the day you stop being human. Life is precious Naruto and we should cherish it while we can. Sometimes, we may be asked to do things that go against what we believe in. What do you believe in Naruto, why do you fight so hard? They only way to cope with what you're feeling right now, is to find the reason you fight, the reason for your existence." Said Kakashi as he turned around ready to head back to the house.

This was something that Naruto needed to work out on his own. True, he knew the answer to what he asked Naruto, but if he found the answer on his own, his drive and will to succeed would be even stronger.

"Kakashi-sensei," said Naruto as he was about to exit the clearing. He turned back to face the genin and saw him smile in his direction

"Arigatou, for everything," he said before going back to staring at the sky.

Kakashi smiled beneath his mask "No problem Naruto" he said barely above a whisper.

* * *

How'd you like it? Leave if review if you did and even if you didn't.

Jutsu Translations

_Kawarimi no jutsu – _Replacement Technique

_Kirigakure no jutsu – _Hidden Mist Technique

_Kage Bunshin no Jutsu – _Shadow Clone Technique

_Mizu Bunshin no Jutsu – _Water Clone Technique

_Suiton: Mizu Kamikiri – _Water Style: Rising Water Cutter

_Katon:_ _Goukakyuu no Jutsu – _Fire Style: Grand Fireball Technique

_Suiton: Daibakufu no Jutsu – _Water Style: Grand Waterfall Technique

_Suiton: Suiryuudan no Jutsu – _Water Style: Water Dragon Projectile Technique

_Shunshin no Jutsu_ _–_ Body Flicker Technique

That's all for now guys. See you next week.

R & R


	11. Chapter 11

The Yellow Maelstrom

Summary

Shortly after failing the graduation exam, Naruto steals the forbidden scroll and finds a scroll addressed to him inside. Armed with it, he will strive to become the best as his heritage is revealed to him and he rocks the Shinobi world as a force to be reckoned with.

Thanks again to all of you who continue to review and read. Please continue to do so. I'm sorry for being away for a while the reasons on my profile. Hope you all enjoy this chapter.

Remember, I don't own Naruto.

"Normal Speech"

'_Thoughts'_

"**Kyuubi"**

'_**Kyuubi Thoughts'**_

_+++++Flashback+++++_

_Jutsus being used/ reading letter, note_

* * *

Mission to Wave Part 3

Naruto woke up the next morning feeling better than he had for the last few days. Last night, he had spoken with Hikari and had apologized to her for ignoring her for so long. It's not like he wasn't hearing her, he just didn't want to speak with anyone at the moment. She had noticed that he was still confused about what his sensei had spoken to him about. She decided that this lesson was one if best figure it out on his own.

The two had spoken throughout the night about any and everything. At present, Naruto was headed to the house to meet the rest of his team to find out what they had planned for the day. On arriving he noticed that they had just started breakfast so he slid into an empty chair and began eating after saying good morning to everyone.

"Ok guys" said Kakashi "as Sakura informed up last night, Zabuza is still out there. However, if our information is correct, Zabuza will recover in one week at the end of which he will attack us again."

At the end of this all of the Genin nodded and waited for some more information.

"Out of all the things that I can teach you" he continued, "none of them will aid you in our next encounter with Zabuza; we simply don't have enough time. What I will however be teaching you is elemental manipulation, a high Chuunin to Jounin level skill. This will help you greatly in mastering your elements and will be an advantage for you in the Chuunin exams that will be held in Konoha in about 2 months."

All three of them had been listening and were a little surprised that their sensei already considered them ready for the exams. Not to mention, he was going to teach them something that was usually taught to high Chuunin and Jounin.

"After breakfast, we will be working on this and you will continue for the rest of the week."

"Hai sensei," they all replied.

After completing their breakfast, the team made their way to a clearing away from Tazuna's house. Kakashi had made a _Kage Bunshin_ to guard Tazuna for the day.

"Ok, now each of you knows your elemental affinities, therefore we will be working on each separately. Unfortunately for you Naruto, since you have four of the main elements, you will have to work harder than all of the others. You will be working on your wind element first while Sasuke will be working on mastering his fire element. Sakura, since you only have one will focus on it. Now let's get to work."

Creating two _Kage Bunshins_, one taking one student as well as the original, they all went in different directions.

Kakashi and Sakura walked a short distance away from their initial starting point before stopping.

"Sakura," began Kakashi while taking out wet cloth from his equipment pouch, "to begin your chakra manipulation training, you will be using this damp piece of cloth."

Sakura was a bit confused but listened nonetheless. Her sensei would never say something like that unless it made sense.

"What you will basically be doing is separating the water from the cloth with your chakra. While doing this, try to 'feel' the water inside of the cloth without touching it. Now I'm not going to lie to you, this will take a lot of concentration and time and I don't expect you to complete it during this week, but if you are able to complete this, we will be able to continue on to the next exercise."

Sakura nodded her assent and began to work on her delegated task as Kakashi stepped away and observed his student.

Sasuke and Kakashi didn't go very far away. When they stopped Kakashi turned towards his student.

"Sasuke, I know that you may be a little more experienced than the other in this area, however, we will be working on you mastering your main element; fire. Now as you may already know, fire is said to be wild and untamed, much like a wild animal. With your training, we will be fixing that problem. After completing this, you will be in complete control of any Katon jutsu that you use and you will be using even less chakra to maintain it while increasing its power. The first step of your training will be to control fire on one of your finger tips. When you have gained sufficient control, you will be moving on to more fingers at a time. The training is considered complete when you can maintain a flame on all ten fingers." Said Kakashi with a smile, remembering his own training for that element. Up to this day, he remembered the number of times he burnt his fingers almost to a crisp. He quickly demonstrated how by generating the flames himself on his fingers, one by one.

"I'm in for a long day aren't I?" stated Sasuke. "Well, here goes"

Using a small Katon Jutsu, He lit up some sticks that they gathered on the way and started the exercise. On his initial attempt, his fingers got burnt and if he wasn't trained as he was, he would have screamed out. Instead, he just grunted and glared at his sensei who just eye smiled at him.

"I'm in for a really long day" he sighed.

"Alright Naruto, to begin your elemental manipulation, you will be trying to slice a leaf in two with just your wind chakra. To tell you the truth, elemental manipulation is going to be the hardest for you because you have four primary elements. As a result, to gain mastery over any of them is going to take you a lot more time than most people. For you however, that won't be a problem because you have the _Kage Bunshin_ hence you can cut your training time down significantly."

"Ne sensei, I don't think I will be using the shadow clones at the start. When I get the hang of the exercise, I'll use them." Said Naruto

"Ok Naruto," replied Kakashi, "That's your choice. If you need any help, I'm right here."

With that, Naruto picked up a leaf and began the exercise.

That's how the team spent their first full day at Tazuna's residence. At the end of the first day, Naruto had made no progress at all and was a bit frustrated as he learned that Sasuke had been able to maintain the flame on one of his fingers for a few seconds before it went out of control. Of the three of them, Sakura had made the most progress. She had been able to separate the water particles from a quarter of the cloth. That however was to be expected as Kakashi mentioned something about her having extremely good chakra control, even better than him.

The second day, they fell into the same ritual and practiced throughout the day, stopping only to eat and rest occasionally, or in Naruto's case, just to eat. By the end of the second day, Sakura was able to separate one third of the water from the cloth. It still took a lot of time to do it and a lot of concentration; something that she purposed to do during their third day of training. Sasuke was now able to control the flame on one finger tip indefinitely but had trouble controlling more than one took too much concentration and time so he would be working on that the next day. Naruto had made the least progress among them and was beginning to get even more frustrated, though he never showed it. He was only able to get a very small cut on the leaf. He had approached Hikari that day and was a bit disappointed to learn that she knew next to nothing on wind chakra manipulation. The only advice that she could give him was that he should envision the chakra the way he wanted it; as a blade of wind. After trying it out, he was finally able to get the small cut on the leaf. Though it was progress, he still felt that he should have been able to go further.

The end of the third day of elemental manipulation met similar results for team seven. Sakura was now halfway through the first level of her training while Sasuke was thirty percent of the way there. Naruto was unable to progress further than he had the previous day and was even more frustrated. To make matters worse, Tazuna's Grandson, Inari, had been at dinner that night and had been very rude to Naruto because he smiled so much. They had just been told about Kaiza, Inari's father who had died when he stood up to Gatou.

Unable to hold in his frustration, He had whipped the kid up and held him against the wall.

_+++++Flashback+++++_

"_What do I know about pain and suffering?" asked Naruto with a thin smile_

"_Look at you;" said Inari, "You're all smiles while Gatou goes around killing people. You're all gonna die, so just quit while you can."_

"_What did you say?" asked Naruto in a calm voice, the smile wiped off his face._

"_Yeah, I'm sure when you leave here you'll be going back home to your family while my dad is still dead. Just leave us alone!" he cried. "You're gonna die too, so maybe then your family will learn what my pain is! Just die you worthless scum."_

_At that moment, all the members of team seven stiffened. If there was one subject that they knew not to cross around Naruto was disrespecting his dead family._

_Before they could blink, Naruto was across the room with Inari in one hand and the other very close to his Kunai pouch, as if struggling to stop himself from reaching for a kunai. He was also pouring out a bit of killing intent that was felt all across the room._

"_You think I don't know what pain is? You think I don't know what it's like to be alone?" asked Naruto, his killing intent rising. "Let me tell you something kid, get your facts right before you speak. Ever since I was born, I was alone; I never knew the love or embrace of a parent. I lived in an orphanage for four years of my life and got beaten at least once a week till they kicked me out. From then I lived on the streets for a month before the Hokage found me and gave me a place to stay. You think I don't know? Huh? I've had more assassination attempts than I can count. I've been hated and beaten all my life for something I have no control over but unlike you, I stopped crying years ago. At least you still have a mother and grandfather, cherish them while you can." Finished Naruto before relenting on his killing intent and releasing Inari._

"_If you need me, I'll be outside sensei," said Naruto before stepping out. As he was stepping out, his teammates looked at him and had to hold in the involuntary gasp that wanted to come out. His eyes were the coldest blue that they had ever seen, even worse than when he had killed Gouzu. With eyes like these, he could freeze hell over._

"_Is all of what he said true?" asked Tsunami with watery eyes._

"_Hai," replied Kakashi with a tired sigh, "if anything he sugar-coated it. There are some things that have been done to him that not even the Hokage would have been able to survive."_

_A solemn atmosphere had settled around the table and none of them felt like finishing dinner. Sasuke had known that Naruto's life had been bad, but this was unimaginable. No one should have to face such a life. Sakura had similar thoughts except before becoming a part of the team, she had no idea that his life had been so bad. Afterwards, she had understood why as well, since Naruto had told them about Kyuubi or Hikari, as he called her, near the end of their two month training trip. It seemed like there was a whole lot more that she had yet to learn about her blond team mate._

_+++++Flashback End+++++_

This brought him to his current situation; busting up trees like there was no tomorrow.

"**Naruto, Take it easy would you, you're destroying everything in your path!" y**elled a frantic Hikari, **"At the rate you're going you'll exhaust all of your chakra."**

Her cry however, fell on deaf ears as Naruto continued to tear through the trees with gusto as he let out all of his pent up frustration. He continued this for another hour until he fell over exhausted and low on chakra. Soon afterwards, blissful unconsciousness claimed him.

A figure approached the sleeping Naruto with extreme caution. She had a basket on her left hand while collecting some herbs.

'_This is one of the ninja's whose sensei fought against Zabuza-sama.' _She thought. _'I could kill him with a snap of his neck in a few seconds,'_ her hand reaching forward towards his neck as she thought this. '_But it just doesn't seem right' _she thought finally.

As she was about to touch him, she felt his hand on her wrist.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you." He said calmly with his eyes still closed.

"My apologies, I just thought that you shouldn't be sleeping out here, you could catch a cold if you do." She said

Finally opening his eyes, he was greeted by quite the sight. Bending over him with her arm outstretched was arguably one of the most beautiful girls he had ever seen. She was dressed in a pink hakama with black and white spots all around. She also had on a smile that dazzled him.

She giggled at him as he continued to stare at him. "You know, it's impolite to stare," she said.

He turned away quickly while a small blush crept unto his face.

"By your headband, I would guess that you're a ninja, right?" She half asked half commented.

"Hai," he replied, "We're here for a mission"

"Ok, so what are you doing out here so early in the morning?" she asked

"Training," he replied simply and a bit cautiously because of the number of questions she asked. "What about you?"

"I'm gathering herbs," she replied, "I prefer to do it in the morning because it's cool and quiet."

"Need some help?" asked Naruto

"Sure" she replied while showing him the type of herbs that she was collecting.

"I'm Naruto, by the way." Said Naruto

"Haku" she said

The two continued to talk for some time, with Naruto telling her what life in Konoha was like. She also informed him that she used to live Mizu no Kuni but because of the civil war had to flee for her life. She suddenly asked him a question.

"You said you're a ninja, right?" at his nod, she continued "Why do you fight, Naruto?"

He suddenly stiffened. He clearly remembered his sensei asking him the same thing

_+++++Flashback+++++_

"_What do you believe in Naruto, why do you fight so hard?"_

_+++++Flashback End+++++_

He was shocked that this person would ask him the same question.

Seeing his visage, she elaborated

"Do you have anyone that is precious to you? People you care for?"

He thought for a while thinking of all those people in his life, but slowed down when he came across a few. _'Iruka-sensei, Sandaime Oji-san, Ayame-chan, Old man Teuchi, Konohamaru, Kakashi-sensei, Sasuke and Sakura. I guess I do have people in my life that are precious to me.'_

"Hai," he replied with a content smile, "I do"

Haku smiled when she saw the smile on his face.

"It's only by protecting what is precious to you that you can become truly strong," She finished.

Realization dawned on Naruto as he understood what she meant by that last line. If someone is precious to you, you would do all that you can for them. Just like he had done for Sasuke when he was in danger; he protected a friend who was precious to him. That's why he fought, to protect what was precious to him, to save a comrade and friend, and that's why he would continue to fight.

"Arigatou Haku, you've helped me more than you'll ever know," said Naruto with a smile which she returned.

"However, regardless of how grateful I am, I won't allow you to hurt my comrades, Hunter-san," said Naruto.

Haku stiffened as he mentioned that, her empty hand ready to reach into her pouch, only to find it missing.

"How'd you know? So I guess you are going to kill me now," she said matter-of-factly.

"You smell the same," said Naruto, "but I won't do you any harm, just try to convince Zabuza to call of the attack. If he doesn't then my team cannot be held responsible for its actions. Besides, you might be able to gain amnesty in Konoha."

Haku wanted to believe what Naruto said, but even if she did, it would be Zabuza's choice whether or not to accept. She was tired of running away from all of the hunter-nin all of the time, but she would do as Zabuza commanded, she was his tool after all.

"I will speak with him," she said, before leaving the clearing created by Naruto the night before.

"**Why didn't you capture her Naruto-kun," **asked Hikari within his mind.

"_Even if I wanted to, I wouldn't. Her eyes remind me too much of myself. I'd feel like one of the villagers striking at me."_

"**Ok,**" she replied, "**but you should not make it a habit of fraternizing with the enemy."** She said playfully.

"Nah, I won't" said Naruto as he began to make his way to the house.

As soon as he reached inside, he called Kakashi over and relayed the option that he had given to Haku. He said that he hoped they accepted as the leaf could use some more Shinobi.

When Naruto left, Kakashi smiled at his retreating figure. It seemed like he had finally gotten over killing Gouzu and would be able to better perform his duties.

Team seven continued their routine for the next three days. They would go out, with a clone of Kakashi each while the real one went to guard Tazuna, to continue their Nature Manipulation. At the end of the third day, Sakura was able to completely remove the water from the cloth, but the amount of time it took was too long so she had a long way to go before mastering it. Sasuke could now maintain a flame on eight fingers for quite some time, but was still unable to go any further. Naruto had made the most progress from three days prior. From only being able to make a small cut on the leaf, he was now able to slice it in half with a lot of concentration; hence he had yet to master it.

Overall, Kakashi was amazed with the progress that his students had made. They had taken to elemental manipulation very quickly and he was very proud of them. At the end of the sixth day however, they met together and decided not to train the following day as the likelihood of Zabuza attacking was very high.

The following day, they all woke up early to prepare as they all expected a long day. Naruto hoped that Zabuza had accepted his invitation since it would be less troublesome that way. Before leaving for the bridge, Naruto made a few clones and had them patrol the area around the house in case Gatou's thugs came around. After everything had been settled, they went to the bridge.

A thick mist was all the team and bridge builder saw when they neared the incomplete end of the bridge. Looking around quickly, they noticed that all of the workers had been knocked unconscious, most likely by Zabuza, but no blood was spilled.

"Momochi Zabuza, it seems like you didn't accept my students' proposal to you," said Kakashi as they prepared for battle.

"Hmph, who said I didn't consider it," said Zabuza, "It just seems very unlikely that your Hokage would pardon someone like me, I'm the Demon of the Bloody Mist after all."

"Not everyone is like the Mizukage, Zabuza. Besides, your goal was admirable, you just didn't have the means to pull it off," said Kakashi, "We'll give you another chance Zabuza, stand down or we may have to use force. If you do, you'll have the choice of returning to Konoha with us or continuing to run from the Hunter-nin, your choice."

On the side of Zabuza, a masked figure appeared and spoke to him, but not loud enough for the others to hear.

"You know Zabuza-sama, they seem to be genuine with what they say. Maybe we could consider it."

"They may seem that way Haku, but a Shinobi's greatest skill is deception. They could be lying to us," countered Zabuza.

"Hai, Zabuza-sama," said Haku.

Zabuza looked down at Haku and was a bit saddened by what he saw. Haku seemed like she really wanted to stop running but he didn't want to take the chance. It wasn't out of self preservation, no, it was because he wanted to protect Haku. He may have brought her up as a tool, but to him, she was more than that. She was like his little sister who always looked out for him while he protected her.

Sighing loudly, he decided to give in to her.

"Oi, Kakashi, to the victor goes the spoils," he said.

Kakashi nodded and the team separated to fight their respective enemies. Kakashi stepped towards Zabuza, while Sasuke and Naruto went towards Haku. Sakura stayed behind to guard Tazuna. All of the Nins faced each other as if waiting for some unmentioned signal to begin their deadly dance. A few seconds passed before the five jumped into action.

Sasuke and Naruto rushed towards Haku with kunai drawn. Naruto had already advised Sakura and Sasuke to drop their weights since they might have to do battle. Also, theirs had to physically un strapped while his was done with a mental command. Naruto looked at Sasuke and nodded to him. Team seven had worked on their teamwork so much that they could communicate with simple nods and seemingly random hand gestures. Sasuke nodded in assent while Naruto slowed his pace. Sasuke would engage up close while he would provide support if needed.

Sasuke tried rushing his opponent with his kunai but Haku was able to keep up with his speed and blocked the assault. The two continued on with Taijutsu with none of them being able to get the edge over the other. Had he been a part of another cell, he would have probably used his bloodline limit. Over time, while training with his team, he had learned not to rely on his Sharingan too much. It was a mistake that many bloodline users made and paid for it with their lives. As such he had trained tirelessly to be able to fight without relying on it unless necessary. Now was one of those times that he would have to resort to it. His opponent was a little faster than him, and matched almost evenly in Taijutsu.

Pushing chakra to his eyes, they changed from black to red with two tomoes in each eye. When Haku saw them she took an involuntary step back.

'_What is this? Could it be the legendary Sharingan of the Uchiha clan?'_

"It seems like you finally decided to get serious," said Haku.

"Hn," grunted Sasuke, a bit of his former self showing up, "Let's get this over with."

With that, the two once again launched into battle, this time with Sasuke landing most of his blows while Haku was hard pressed to even get a hit in. Jumping back, she put some distance between the two of them and quickly ran through some seals then called out the name of her technique.

"_Hyouton: Sensatsu Suishou"_

Water rose from the sea below and formed a large number of ice needles and flew towards Sasuke at high speed. Seeing the incoming needles, Sasuke added chakra to his feet and jumped into the air to avoid them. While in the air, he did some seals then called out

"_Katon: Goukakyuu no Jutsu_"

A large fireball sped towards Haku and was unable to mount up a proper defence so she tried to move out of the way by leaping back.

When Sasuke landed, he had to dodge to the side as Haku came at him again with her fist reared back. He caught it nut was surprised when she began speaking.

"You are at a disadvantage here," she began. Sasuke's eyebrows rose in amusement, "Your right hand is currently occupied, but mine," she said while going through one hand seals, "are not. _Hyouton Hijutsu_: _Makyō Hyōshō"_

Instantly, water rose from the sea below and formed a dome of mirrors around the duo. Away from them, Naruto clenched his fists. It seemed that he would have to aid Sasuke. Running towards the dome of mirrors, he jumped in with his kunai drawn.

Zabuza and Kakashi had been watching their subordinate's battle and both were impressed. When Zabuza saw Haku form the Ice Mirrors, he smirked then spoke to Kakashi.

"It seems that Haku decided to take things up a notch. No one has ever survived her ice mirrors, and I don't think that brat will do any better."

"We'll see about that, Zabuza, besides he has Naruto with him. They should be done in a while," responded Kakashi.

"Confident aren't you. Well let's get this show on the road."

He gripped his sword and charged Kakashi, intent on finishing the fight as quickly as possible. Kakashi however pulled out his Ninjato to block the strike and uncovered his Sharingan eye. The two engaged in a fast paced Kenjutsu battle where Zabuza seemed to have the upper hand. Though Kakashi was well versed in Kenjutsu, it was not his forte since the only reason he was able to wield a sword was because of his time in ANBU and his more recent training. Zabuza continued to push Kakashi back gradually. Seeing his position, Kakashi leapt away. As soon as he landed, he began forming hand seals. Seeing this, Zabuza quickly formed the hand seals for his _Kirigakure no jutsu_ and seemed to disappear into the mist.

When Kakasji was finally done he called out

"_Katon: Karyuu Endan" _while blowing a large jet of fire into the mist while spinning all around. This served two purposes, to remove the mist and to have Zabuza reveal his position. As expected, Zabuza's position was revealed when he had to jump away from the fire. Furious at having his position revealed, he was about to rush Kakashi but was stopped when he felt cold metal against his neck. Looking up he saw Kakashi but had no time to ponder further as he was cut across his stomach.

When Naruto arrived, he was amazed by what he saw. All around him were images of Haku, each with a few senbon needles in each hand. He looked at Sasuke and noticed he had his Sharingan active and only appeared to have one or two needles on him. Pulling them out for him, Sasuke spoke to him

"Speed is the key to overcoming her attacks. As long as we are faster than her, she can't hit us."

"Got it," replied Naruto. He immediately removed his chakra weights and felt like a huge weight had been removed from his shoulders making him feel lighter. The two then exploded into action each covering the others' back.

Haku was surprised by the efficiency with which they worked. She couldn't find any openings. Meanwhile, Naruto and Sasuke realized that even if they were faster than their opponent, if she stayed hidden it would do them no good. Naruto decided to try a different approach.

"Why don't we stop this useless fighting Haku."

"I wish I could Naruto, but as long as Zabuza-sama wills it. I will fight till I no longer have any breath," she replied.

"Why are you so loyal to him anyway?" asked Naruto.

"Because when I had nothing, he saved me." She replied

She then proceeded to tell them how in her country, people with bloodline limits were hunted and killed. Her father was one of those who hunted them and when her bloodline surfaced, she ended up killing him and a mob to save herself after he killed her mother. She explained that she had been ready to give up on life and would have had she not met Zabuza. She was saved by him and would follow him to the depths of hell. She was his tool to be used as he commanded.

At her proclamation, Naruto was saddened because he had gone through something similar. Had it not been for the Sandaime he might have gone over the edge. Luckily for him, he didn't. He looked up at Haku

"You know Haku, when we get out of this mess, we could probably start anew."

"I don't know. For Zabuza-sama, I will kill my emotions and become a true Shinobi."

Both Naruto and Sasuke sighed. It seemed like they would have to continue fighting.

"Ready Sasuke?" asked Naruto while holding up four fingers so only he could see.

"Hai," he replied.

The two then blurred through seals so quickly that before Haku even had time to react, they were done.

"_Katon: Goukakyuu no Jutsu_" said Sasuke then Breathed out a large ball of fire.

At the same time Naruto called out the name of his jutsu

"_Fuuton: Daitoppa"_

The two techniques joined each other and the fireball grew to four times its normal size and covered more than half of the dome. Seconds later, a shattering sound was heard and the entire structure crumbled.

Haku had been caught in the fire but was not burnt too badly. She was however low on chakra as she used most of hers to cushion her fall and shield her body from the flames. The two boys headed out and heard a groan. When the area cleared, they saw Haku on the floor near exhaustion. She still tried to stand but was unable to.

"Haku," began Naruto, "It would be for the best if you stayed down. You need medical treatment so please refrain from moving."

She still tried moving again, so with a nod to Sasuke, Sasuke moved towards her and chopped her behind the neck. She immediately fell unconscious leaving the two others to their own devices.

"Hey Naruto, lets go see if Kakashi-sensei is finished with Zabuza."

"Hai," he replied and they both made their way over, with Haku slung over Naruto's shoulder.

A steady drip was heard as the Zabuza struck with the kunai turned out to be a _Mizu Bunshin. _Kakashi ducked quickly as Zabuza's sword passed over his head. The two continued battling, this time using Taijutsu but Kakashi had the upper hand and was about to try to finish the fight before a loud snort was heard. The two stopped momentarily and stared at the newcomer.

"Gatou," said Zabuza, "What are you doing here?"

"Demon of the mist. You know, I don't think you deserve that title Zabuza. More like baby of the mist. You couldn't even take out an old bridge builder" sneered Gatou while the eighty or so thugs around him laughed.

"Gatou," growled Zabuza

"Pah, you know what Zabuza, I didn't feel like paying you so I called up a few of my little friends. There're gonna finish you off then finish your job. Besides where's that whore you had with you?"

At the mention of Haku, Naruto narrowed his eyes while Zabuza glared at him.

"What do you want with her?" asked Zabuza

"I just want to repay that slut for breaking my arm. Afterwards I think I'll give her to my men so they can relieve their selves," He said. At the mention of that, all the thugs sported hungry looks like when eyeing a piece of meat.

Now, Naruto was growling lightly at the man while Zzabuza let his killing run wild.

"You dare to threaten her?" he said while turning to Kakashi "Kakashi, we no longer have any reason to fight. Maybe when this is over, you could take Haku to Konoha with you. As for me, I have a crime lord to butcher" he finished.

Naruto, though angry, thought to himself that probably if Haku was awake would be rethinking her status as a tool. He walked over to Sakura and laid her at her feet.

"Mind taking care of her for a while? I think Zabuza might need some help."

Sakura nodded and He walked over to his sensei with Sasuke leading the way. The three made their way to Zabuza and after a brief talked charged the small army of thugs. The fight, if it could be called that lasted less than a minute. With Zabuza and Kakashi in the front and Naruto and Sasuke bringing up the rear, they cut through the thugs like a hot knife through butter and finally came up on Gatou. Zabuza got the killing blow in when he decapitated him with his sword. Many of the thugs were killed by either Kakashi or Zabuza. Naruto and Sasuke however tried to hold back from killing them but were unsuccessful a few times.

When the four were done and were heading back towards Sakura, loud cheering was heard behind them. When they turned around, most if not all of the village was present, each person brandishing some kind of homemade weapon.

When everyone had finally calmed down, they were told what happened they all decided to go to the town square to celebrate while the ninja's went home with their comrades.

On the way home, Haku woke up and was relieved to see Zabuza walking in front of her. It seemed like they would be going to Konoha after all. With that thought in mind, she drifted back into unconsciousness with a smile on her face.

When they arrived at the house, Naruto was informed by one of his clones that two Samurai had tried taking Tsunami hostage and would have succeeded had one of the clones not found them near the house and knocked one of them out then questioned the other. The clone had also noticed Inari following him, who, after seeing Naruto's display and speaking with him, rounded up all of the villagers and went to the bridge.

A few days later, the group of Shinobi was standing on the far end of the completed bridge saying their farewells to the people of Nami no Kuni. They had been able to complete the bridge a few days ahead of schedule, especially with the help of Naruto's _Kage Bunshins_. He hadn't used them before because of his training, but now that they were done for a while, he produced them in large quantities.

Zabuza and Haku also accompanied team seven as they stood saying good bye to the people. At first some people had been weary of them but by the end of the first day, most of them had warmed up to them.

The Shinobi's, finally able to leave, crossed the end of the bridge leading to Hi no Kuni.

On the bridge, one of the random villagers shouted out a question.

"So what are you going to name the bridge Tazuna?"

"Let's call it the Super awes-" he started but was cut off by a smack to the head courtesy of Tsunami.

"We'll call it The Great Naruto Bridge" he said, "In honour of Naruto Uzumaki and his team, ninjas of Konoha who spurred Inari on who went on to motivate our people and give them hope," he finished.

A loud cheer was heard from the crowd as they cheered on Naruto and the rest of the team even if they were absent.

* * *

That's a wrap folks, thanks for reading. Don't forget to review.

Jutsu Translations

_Hyouton Hijutsu: Sensatsu Suishou_ – Ice Style: Death by a Thousand Flying Water Needles

_Katon: Goukakyuu no Jutsu_ – Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique

_Hyouton Hijutsu_: _Makyō Hyōshō – _Ice Style Secret Jutsu: Ice Crystal Mirrors

_Kirigakure no Jutsu – _Hidden mist technique

_Katon: Karyuu Endan_ – Fire Style: Fire Dragon Flame Projectile

"_Fuuton: Daitoppa_– Great Breakthrough

_Mizu Bunshin no jutsu – _Water Clone Technique

Nami no Kuni – Wave Country

Hi no Kuni – Fire Country

Don't forget to review. Well that's all for now. See ya.


	12. Chapter 12

The Yellow Maelstrom

Summary

Shortly after failing the graduation exam, Naruto steals the forbidden scroll and finds a scroll addressed to him inside. Armed with it, he will strive to become the best as his heritage is revealed to him and he rocks the Shinobi world as a force to be reckoned with.

I know I've been a way for a while… sorry about that my life's been… interesting for a while. Some people have asked so I will answer; Haku is female in this fic. Thanks again to all of you who continue to review and read. Please continue to do so. Now on with the show.

Remember, I don't own Naruto.

"Normal Speech"

'_Thoughts'_

"**Kyuubi"**

'_**Kyuubi Thoughts'**_

_+++++Flashback+++++_

_Jutsus being used/ reading letter, note_

* * *

The Return

"That's what happened on our mission Hokage-sama," said Naruto as he finished giving the teams' mission report.

Hiruzen Sarutobi sat silently for a few moments while puffing on his pipe before addressing the party before him.

"So the infamous Demon of the Bloody Mist and his apprentice wish to join our ranks?" he said while staring at them, his face betraying nothing. "Kakashi, should they be allowed to join, what skills would they be bringing to our village?" he asked.

"Sir, as you may be aware; Zabuza is a master of the silent killing that is used in Kirigakure no Sato which he is willing to share with our ANBU. He is also a former member of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist. We would be adding to our ranks a highly skilled swordsman on par if not surpassing Gekkou Hayate as well as a new bloodline in the form of his apprentice who has the Hyouton element and is able to use it to an astounding degree. Zabuza is up to high Jounin level Haku is at mid Chuunin." said Kakashi as he summed up their abilities.

At the mention of Haku's bloodline, Naruto was a bit put out. He didn't want them to simply turn her into a mere breeder just for her bloodline. He looked up at the Sandaime and relaxed when he saw the look on his face.

"That is very interesting; however, regardless of their abilities they will be given a chance. I'm a firm believer that if a mistake is made in the past, it should remain right there; in the past. You will however be expected to prove your worth. In the mean time however, I welcome you both to Konohagure, Jonin Zabuza Momochi and Chuunin Haku," said the old Hokage as he passed out a vest to each of them.

"You will also be under supervision for an indefinite amount of time until I deem you trustworthy and you will not be allowed to take any missions above C rank out of the village during that time. I will warn you though," he continued, "should any of you display any form of treachery against the village, you will be executed without trial in public," he said in a cold voice and so much killing intent that it made the two ninja it was directed at sweat. It served to remind Zabuza that even if he was old, the Hokage was still pretty good and could handle him with minimal effort.

They both bowed low before the Hokage before walking forward to receive their vests.

"As for the members of team 7, you have a week off from active duty beginning tomorrow," continued the aged Hokage, "And congratulations on completing for first A ranked mission as genin." He said with a small trace of pride in his voice only detected by Kakashi.

With that they stepped out of the Hokage's office, but not before he tossed an envelope to Zabuza telling him that it contained directions to their new apartment as well as keys. The party then split up and headed their separate ways.

Three days later, Naruto was at home tending to the plants on his window sill when he thought he saw a familiar face passing by. Putting his watering can aside, he stepped out and looked down and to his surprise saw Haku with a broom trying her hardest to clean up one of the apartments near his.

"Ohayou Haku-chan," he called out while waving in her direction.

"Ohayou to you too Naruto-san," she replied with a small smile on her face, happy to see someone that she was a bit familiar with in the village.

"Have you been enjoying your stay in the village so far?" he asked.

"It's been good so far," she replied, "Cleaning this apartment has been the most difficult thing so far."

"Really? How has No-brows been?" He asked with a slight grin.

"Zabuza-sama has been well. He is staying in the apartment next to mine. It seems like he is very famous among the Jounin of the village. This morning some weird guy whose name was Gai came over and challenged him to a fight," she said "I swear, that guy was even more weird than Zabuza-sama" she said in a barely audible tone while shivering slightly and mumbling something about humongous eyebrows and green spandex.

"Ah," sighed Naruto, "I see that you have met the famous Maito Gai, Taijutsu expert of the leaf. He may seem a little weird, Okay, maybe a lot weird, but he's an ok guy, though a slave driver," said Naruto as he recalled one of the training sessions his team had with Gai.

"If you say so Naruto-san," replied Haku

"Need any help Haku-chan?" asked Naruto as he walked towards her apartment.

She seemed to ponder this for a moment before nodding and welcoming him over.

"Ok I'm kinda glad that you offered to help," she said, "It's been hectic for me as it's my first time doing anything like this.

"My pleasure," he said

"Ok, would you mind painting the walls for me? The colours are all next to them so there should be no problem."

"Sure, but one question, how many rooms are there?" he asked

"Uh three," she answered, "Why?"

He just grinned and walked away with brush and roller in hand. When he reached the nearest wall, he put his fingers into that oh so familiar cross shaped seal and with a barely audible _kage bunshin no jutsu,_ five clones stood next to him ready for action.

Haku simply stared on in fascination as the blondes separated into groups of two and attacked a wall per group.

'_Talk about a multi-purpose jutsu'_ she thought as she continued on with her task.

The two worked tirelessly for more than two hours on task after task until the apartment appeared to be habitable.

"Ah now that was some tiring work." Said Haku with a sigh as she looked over at Naruto only to blink again and again to ensure what she was seeing wasn't a mirage. In her opinion, Naruto still looked like he could run a marathon and come out at the top.

"N-Naruto-san, how can you still stand after so much tiring work?" she asked incredulously.

"Huh, well I guess I'm just that awesome eh Haku-chan," he replied with a wide grin on his face.

Haku simply shook her head at let the issue drop. Naruto for his part was glad that she didn't press the issue any further as he wasn't sure if he would be able hide the truth from her as she seemed to be very perceptive.

"Perhaps a cold drink for all of our troubles?" asked Haku

"Indeed," said Naruto as he followed her out of the apartment with her leading the way and locking after him.

The two spent the rest of the afternoon together as Naruto gave her a tour of the village pointing out one of his favourite spots; The Hokage Monument. A few hours later, the two made their way back to the apartment complex with light smiles on their faces as they spoke with each other. They continued on for a moment before arriving at Haku's entrance where they parted saying good bye to each other.

Sasuke stood alone at his family home pondering life. _'Some family home this is' _he thought to himself. It was always the same for him. That's one of the reasons why he enjoyed the time spent with his team so much; they became to him like a second family in the short time that they had been together. He had already lost his mother, father and many other relatives during the Uchiha Massacre and dreaded returning to his current dwelling place everyday after team practice.

'_The atmosphere is just so cold'_ he thought, _'It's like there is no life in this place. So quite, no one to talk to, why did you kill them Itachi and leave me all alone? Why did you have to take Kaa-san away'_ he thought silently, the tears threatening to fall from his eyes.

'_Why? Why Aniki? Do you know how hard you made it for me, leaving me all alone like that? Telling me to hate and despise you? Why…is it getting harder to hate you… I'm starting to believe there's more to this_

'_Look at me, heh I'm just sitting here moping over stuff that's already happened. Maybe I should do like you always used to say aniki, look to the future and help build Konohagure, the village before the clan. It's my responsibility after all.'_

'_Maybe I should relocate to some other area, get an apartment like Naruto and sell this place. It's not like I can ever use all of the space any way.'_

"You know," he said out loud while subtly drying his eyes, "that sounds pretty good."

With that in mind, he leapt away from the Uchiha grounds and towards one of the real estate agents but one thought still lingered on his mind '_Why?'_

Sakura had just come from doing some shopping for her mother and was on her way home. It was almost a week since they came from Nami no Kuni where they protected the bridge builder Tazuna and his family.

"Hey forehead-girl" said a familiar voice

"Hm, Ino-chan" said Sakura to herself, "how have things been going on with you Ino? We haven't had a lot of free time since team placements."

Ino had been running towards Sakura but stopped abruptly

"what did you call me forehead?' she asked

"Uh, Ino?" replied Sakura unsure of what caused the confusion.

Ino simply stood there and blinked stupidly at Sakura. It was supposed to be perfect! Walk up to Sakura, dis her forehead, tell her that Sasuke is mine then go along my merry way.

"What happened to you forehead? And ewww, is that muscle? What's going on Sakura?" Asked Ino incredulously.

"I grew up Ino," replied Sakura noticing what she was talking about " Our sensei actually managed to convince me to stop dieting because it was bad for my health, and don't give me that look, because it's true. If you think it's a joke, ask your parents."

"Bu- bu-t- but look at you! I mean come on," stuttered Ino. Sakura giggled quietly as Ino seemed to remind her of Hinata so much right now.

"Don't worry Ino, besides, you should try it out sometime. Right now, I've got to go, so see you later Ino and train hard okay?" said Sakura as she walked away from Ino.

'_She didn't even call me pig once'_ thought Ino

"Ne, Kaka-sensei, what are we here for so early today?" asked Naruto as the final member of team seven walked into the training ground.

The sun had yet to rise and team seven was already meeting for the first time since their mission to Nami no Kuni.

"Well you see guys, considering our recent success; Hokage-sama has seen it fit to assign us another mission outside of the village," started Kakashi

"Stop beating around the bush sensei," said Sasuke, "just tell us the mission already!" he continued annoyed.

Kakashi simply eye-smiled at them and continued on, "we were given a B-rank mission by Hokage-sama to contact one of the Sanin, Jiraiya, the Gama Sennin. Were are then to continue on along with him to locate and return Tsunade-sama-"

"Kaka-sensei, did you just say Tsunade-sama?" asked Sakura, her eyes shining in adoration. "Please say you did, pretty please Kaka-sensei?"

"Yes, I did," said Kakashi with a sigh.

At that, Sakura started to whop and jump around in joy at the prospect of meeting her role model. Ever since joining Team seven and training under Kakashi, she had begun reading up on Tsunade of the Sanin and her exploits along with her teammates Jiraiya and Orochimaru. She had pledged to try her best to become a kunoichi who others could model on like Tsunade and make her village proud.

"Sakura," said Naruto in a deadpan voice, "You can stop now. We need to get going."

She was about to retort but thought better of it as they turned to their sensei for further instructions.

"You have one hour to get packed for a three week mission outside of the village so get going," he finished while making a shooing motion with his hands.

"Jiraiya-sama, it's a pleasure as always," said Kakashi as the sensei of team seven stood to acknowledge the presence of the Sanin.

The team had travelled for a week towards the south-western border of Hi no Kuni and was currently in a hotel near the border. Along the way, Kakashi had them continue their elemental training and was a bit surprised by their progress. Each of them had successfully completed the task that he had set them to do and so he demonstrated the second exercise to them. For Sakura, whose primary element was water, she moved on to actually manipulating the water from a bottle that she kept close by. So far, she seemed to have tremendous success with it and was very close to mastering the exercise.

Sasuke also moved on to the second and final phase of his fire elemental training. His task was to generate fire in the palm of his hands, and regulate the size and shape of the fire. After completing that part, he would then move on to covering his entire body with fire without getting burnt.

For Naruto, since they did not have the proper tools needed to move on to the final step of his wind elemental training, Kakashi decided to have him do an exercise he once spied a Suna Chuunin doing while on a joint mission with him. It involved first splitting a fist sized rock in two similar to the leaf cutting exercise then cutting it into as many small pieces as possible, and if possible, to dust using wind natured chakra.

They all practiced the exercise and so far only Naruto was able to complete his training due largely to using his _Kage Bunshin_ to help him, though he only used four of them at any one time.

Kakashi and Jiraiya continued speaking for a while before Jiraiya turned to eye the genin.

"So Kakashi, these are the brats that you have been tutoring for the past few months?" he asked.

"Hai, they are quite a lovable bunch if I do say so myself," he replied.

"If you say so Kakashi, if you say so." He said. "Now onto business, the last place that Tsunade was in River Country near the border which is why we are here today. Also, Considering that there will be a Casino opening in town in two days time, then our best bet is to stay here for her. Any questions?" he asked

"Hai," replied Sakura, "Why will we be waiting at a casino for her?"

Kakashi simply sighed while Jiraiya answered.

"Well she is affectionately known as the legendary sucker, because of her bad luck at gambling; and she still does not know when to quit. That's why this is the best place to wait."

'_Is she really that great?' _thought all three of the genin in sync, but abolished those thoughts when they recalled her exploits.

"Well, get your brats ready Kakashi, because we have a lot of work ahead of us. As for me, I have some research to complete," he said while giggling perversely.

"What will you be researching Jiraiya-sama," asked Naruto excitedly, "Is it a new seal?"

"If you would like to know, why don't you come along to find out?" he said

Naruto looked to Kakashi who smiled while nodding his head.

'_One more pervert will be born' _thought Kakashi, while Jiraiya thought _'I will do you proud Minato, I will make your son into the biggest pervert in the world, second only to me. Hopefully, I will never meet Kushina-chan when I die or else she will kill me again for perverting her son. But still, what I would give to gaze upon that luscious body, those beautiful -'_

He immediately flew backwards with a severe nosebleed. Naruto, though sceptical of their actions, followed Jiraiya.

A few minutes after Jiraiya awoke; the two arrived at the hot springs where Jiraiya immediately began to giggle.

Naruto, his thoughts going at a mile a minute, finally pieced two and two together, and the result? Pervert!

"Ero-Jiraiya, you're a pervert aren't you?" he said while pointing a finger at him accusingly.

"ho ho ho, how remise of me, I didn't properly introduce myself," said Jiraiya.

Running through some seals, he quickly performed the Kyose and a toad appeared.

"Behold the divine ninja Jiraiya's … Far east of Eden's ….. Wild dance!"

Naruto simply sweat dropped as Jiraiya continued.

"Behold, women gather from the north, south, east and west at the sound of his name, the worlds one and only super pervert, the Toad Sannin of Mt. Myouboku, I am Jiraiya!" He finished while standing in the last goofy stance of his dance.

Naruto simply stared, and stared and stared some more.

'_I can't believe it; he actually tells the whole world that he is a pervert, a super pervert at that. Is this guy really all that he is said to be? But you know what they say, don't judge a book by its cover.'_

"Jiraiya," began Naruto, his bangs covering his eyes, "You're a super pervert! You're no Legendary Sannin, You are an ero-sennin" he finished while laughing and walking away.

"See you later Ero- Sennin," he said one more time while walking.

"stupid kid," grumbled Jiraiya as Naruto walked away, "can't even appreciate the wonders of the female anatomy."

With that, he turned around and began his research but a moment later, a female voice squealed out

"Perveeeeert"

Jiraiya, paled considerably as he prepared himself for the inevitable beating that he was about to receive. Nothing however prepared him for the image that he saw as he was left with his jaw hanging open.

"You! You are so DEAD".

Far away at a safer environment, a blonde haired shinobi heard a voice in his head

"**I am so glad you listened"**

Said shinobi only nodded his head in consent.

That's a wrap folks.

A bit of character development in this one if you liked it review. See ya next week.


	13. Chapter 13

"Normal Speech"

'_Thoughts'_

"**Kyuubi"**

'_**Kyuubi Thoughts'**_

_+++++Flashback+++++_

_Jutsus being used/ reading letter, note_

* * *

Of Legends

"**I am so glad you listened"**

Naruto only nodded his head in consent. This agreement was further enforced by seeing Jiraiya flying through the air past him, there was a trace of fear on the old sage's face as he hit the ground head first causing a small crater.

'_I think we found Tsunade.__'_assumed Naruto.

His assumption was proven correct as he saw a blond haired woman who was clearly pissed off stomping towards Jiraiya. What caught him more off guard was how young she looked but he could worry about that later as he backed away from the current situation.

"I can explain I can explain" Jiraiya had managed to pull himself out of the crater and was backing away from a clearly angry Tsunade.

"Talk to the fist you pervert." she was going to sock him again by the looks of it.

Naruto was holding back his laughter at the spectacle although even if he was a bit distracted he was still aware. Someone was approaching him from behind, whoever it was they weren't being stealthy. He looked behind him and saw a black haired women wearing a kimono and holding a pig in her arms, she had a weary apologetic look as if this happened a lot.

"Uh hi what just happened?" asked the boy with obvious amusement.

"Lady Tsunade hates peepers." the lady let out a sigh. "Especially this one."

"At least now I know what he meant by research. When he said it he made it sound like it was something useful." though he probably should've expected it considering how the old man had so openly declared himself a pervert which, was further proved when he tried motorboating Tsunade and got a blow to the head instead for his troubles. Naruto face palmed feeling embarrassed and noticed Shizune looked downcast herself at the whole thing. "Uh should we just let them get on with it and have some lunch?"

"Are you asking me out?" replied Shizune looking at him accusingly.

"Wait wha?" the boys eyes widened and started waving his arms franticly. "I'm not like that perverted sage, I was just asking cause they look like their goanna take some time. I'm sorry if I sounded like a pervert, I'm honest. Don't hit me." he finished by shielding his face reckoning that this woman must be like Tsunade and expected to get hit, he could also hear Hikari almost busting a gut in laughter followed by being called an idiot.

No blow came instead Shizune started giggling. "I won't hit you, Lady Tsunade doesn't usually either but Lord Jiraiya is the exception." she smiled and turned around starting to walk away. "I'd be happy to have lunch with you uhm..?"

"Oh! Man I'm rude, I'm Naruto." he hastily answered. **"Very Smooth kid"**

"Shizune, nice to meet you." she looked down at the pig she was holding. "This is Tonton." thus they excused themselves from the ongoing affair of the two Sanin publicly saying hello in their own way…

Sasuke Uchiha wasn't one to openly show his frustration but alas he could not help it after separating from Naruto and the Sage Jiraiya they'd initially searched the new casino after Kakashi distracted one of the doorman allowing he and Sakura to sneak in they unearthed that she had been here, lost a lot of money and on the last table she played had told a woman she was with that their luck would improve in the smaller gambling districts. Annoyingly the Slug Sanin had been to almost all of the establishment in the gambling district… and after all that they had come up empty. For sure it was a part of information gathering and though the raven haired teen wasn't going to whine about it anyone could tell he was annoyed.

"Earth to Sasuke." said Sakura as she waved her hand in front of his face. "You were scowling so much you spaced out." she smiled at him. "We got a lead she went to the market district to eat."

Kakashi pointed to a board with a map on it "The quickest way is through the hot springs how long ago did she leave Sakura?"

"About ten minutes." she replied.

"Hmmm… then at the leisurely pace Tsunade seems to be moving at she's probably just made it there." '_Unless Lord Jiraiya went straight to the hot springs' _the copy ninja spotted what looked like a shooting star crashing to earth. '_Well at least she won't be going anywhere for a while.' _he sighed. "We'll move at pace, lets go."

Upon their arrival at the hot springs they were greeted with the remains of some kind of scuffle, the ground was cracked in two places as if someone had stomped the ground and scuff mucks indicating someone had been punched backwards. _'She hasn't lost her strength… or her temper' _Kakashi was easily able to piece together what'd happened but the two genin didn't whom were now searching the immediate area for clues, Sakura was doing this more franticly. "Calm down." he sighed. "What happened isn't what you think."

"But how do you know that?" asked Sakura.

"There'd be more damage to the area for one." Sasuke was kneeling next to a set of footprints using his hand to pick up some of the dirt. "Naruto was standing far away and he didn't get involved with what happened. Though that doesn't explain what exactly happened but you do… Sensei?" he glared at the copy ninja knowing the man was hiding something.

"It'll be easier if we find Lord Jiraiya, no doubt he has met Lady Tsunade and their catching up on old times." though for Kakashi catching up had a double meaning as he knew the Toad Sage was probably receiving a beating right now…

Back with Shizune and Naruto they'd gone for Ramen much to Hikari's displeasure she reminded him that stuff wasn't the most healthy of food to which, he retorted that he was allowed to treat himself once in a while. _'I don't eat it all the time.' _**"Says the boy who lived off it for nearly ten years." **_'Hey I cut back.' _**"Not enough your almost addicted to it." **_'What do you want me to do? Quit it?' _when no reply came he narrowed his eyes as he had a feeling Hikari was smirking that was exactly what she wanted.

"Uhm are you ok? You keep pulling faces." asked Shizune raising an eyebrow at the boy's antics.

"Yeah I'm fine! Just thinking about stuff." he replied sort of honestly.

"About Lady Tsunade and Lord Jiraiya? Don't worry the same thing happened three years ago, he opened with a joke about me and Lady Tsunade… it went downhill for about half hour before they actually spoke like civilised individuals." Shizune sighed hoping whatever he was here for would be revealed soon then she reminded herself that Naruto must know too. "Anyway why are you here?"

"Well basically we're here under the Hokage's orders to bring The Slug Sanin Lady Tsunade back to Konoha. We're not off to the greatest of starts by the looks of it though."

"That'll be near impossible she's practically sworn never to return. Lord Jiraiya is the only thing that remotely connects her to that village."

"I won't know until I try it's my mission so I won't just give up that easily, deep down she must still care all we gotta do is remind her."

"Forgive me but I'm not insulting you but it can't be done, ever since that d-ay… no it's not my place to say." after saying this Shizune looked down at her food allowing a very awkward atmosphere to take over.

Tsunade had stopped punching the living daylights out of Jiraiya for a moment and now lifted him by the scruff of his neck. "What are you doing here and don't even think about being smart."

"We came here looking for you." Jiraiya winced a little as he was let go landing on his feet. "Me and my dazzling new appren…tice?"

Both of the Sanin looked equally confused when they noticed they were the only ones left in the street having naturally scared off the local public though for Tsunade it was unusual for Shizune to just leave this wasn't exactly the first time her assistant had witnessed her temper. As for Jiraiya he was looking to the side so that his expression couldn't be seen for it was obviously lecherous and yet he felt pride that his work with Naruto was already paying off.

"Hey!" shouted the Slug Sanin. "Look at me! Where the hell did your brat take Shizune?"

"Oh he's learning so fast." Jiraiya pretended to wipe a tear from his eye. "At this rate he'll be as great as me." he shook with excitement and fist pumped. "Oh Yeahhh!" obviously his brain must've shut down for self preservation had gone out of the window completely, Tsunade had a murderous feel about her and by the time the old pervert realised this half of his face had appeared to of caved inwards as he got blasted off into the sky.

"Don't panic where that white and red dot lands is where we'll find Tsunade." said Kakashi. He had thought that after the Sanin's initial greeting there wouldn't be another one of Jiraiya's flying lessons to witness alas the only bright side was they now knew exactly where everyone was. The sceptical look on the two genin's faces made him crack an eye smile. "I'd wager an A rank missions pay to one of your D ranks on it."

Naruto stared into his now empty bowl he'd been struck into silence by Shizune's gloominess her suddenly downcast mood was making it hard for him to think. **'Kid secrets and promises should always be kept. She feels ashamed for almost telling you something told to her in confidence.**' 'That explains it but what do I do, uh… your a woman can you…' **'No and it's got nothing to do with gender, just wait for a distraction those two Sanin must be on their way by now.'**

A minute later and his wish had been granted as a red and white blur came hurtling towards the ground crashing on the opposite side of the street where they were sitting. Despite the sudden and violent interruption Naruto felt a huge sense of relief as he immediately put down some money without looking at it then ran over to what appeared to be a crater. As he saw who was stuck inside it the boy face palmed _'Is this guy for real.' _"Seriously! Does this always happen to you… Ero- Sennin."

"Only one special lady." Jiraiya sat up rubbing the side of his face. "with the magic touch of heaven can send my mind, body and soul across the sky." the old man grinned but then retracted it in pain. He leapt out of the crater next to Naruto. "I have to say she hasn't lost her touch at all."

"Did you at least get something out of it?" Naruto paused then quickly added. "I mean mission wise."

"Jealous are we? No not yet I was getting round to it but you'd gone on a date so we got distracted." Jiraiya leaned closer to the boy and nudged him with his shoulder. "I have to say you've got the date part down so quickly."

"It's not a date! You were too busy getting beaten up and we were hungry." Naruto's face had flushed.

"No need to be modest, you found an excuse to take her to lunch and you even paid for the meal. Throwing out the old gentlemen card are we?"

"What? No I only paid for mi..ne?" the blonde looked over and saw Shizune standing outside of the restaurant. "Shut up! It's your fault!" **'You invited her, only vulgar young men do not pay the full tab afterwards.' **_'Who's side are you on?' _**'Isn't it obvious?' **Hikari was clearly enjoying the little scene, the chuckling that followed made him feel even more uncomfortable.

"Don't feel so embarrassed, actually if you play that right with your looks women will find it cute. It worked most of the time when I was younger and it still does." said the Toad Sage with a smile.

"Look lets just leave it, your perverseness is probably goanna frighten her away." Naruto narrowed his eyes when the old man's expression became more sly. "Is that the first thing you think of, actually Ero- Sennin don't answer that."

Tsunade could feel her anger subsiding after letting it all out on the old pervert, it was akin to punching a pillow but more satisfying. Though she wondered who that boy was he looked very familiar but she couldn't put her finger on it. He didn't bother her mind you as for one Shizune could handle herself and for two despite how annoying Jiraiya was he wasn't one to take advantage of other women and he wouldn't let just any child become his apprentice. _'Now all that's left is to find out what they want.'_

She only got to take a few steps before sensing others approaching and rapidly, it was doubtful that it was Jiraiya since her punches take a bit longer to recover from than that. Reaching into her pocket she pulled out a coin flipped it into the air the suddenly threw it towards one of the wooden beams of a flat roof. The ones approaching suddenly stopped in time for the coin to imbed itself into the beam right next to a very shocked Sakura.

"Kakashi, is that you? How long's it been, five years?" she quickly looked over the copy ninja and noted that the only changes was that he'd gotten taller along with his hair a touch longer.

"Six actually. I see you are well and as beautiful as usual." Kakashi remarked as he leapt over the roof onto the ground closely followed by his two students.

"Cute kids, seems like everyone is taking on students lately."

"I take it you have already met lord Jiraiya." there was an almost apologetic tone in his voice but then his posture became more upright. "So how did it go?" he didn't even need an answer Tsunade's expression told more than words could. "Ok did he say anything important?"

"No but I can gather it's something important if they sent you with a bunch of kids." there was obvious sarcasm in the Sannin's voice which, made Sakura frown this wasn't exactly how she imagined the older woman to be like.

"Then it's best we hear it from the horse's mouth, so to speak." the copy ninja already knew; this was going to be a long day…

* * *

Phew got there in the end, sorry about the long hiatus but everything shall now resume. So tune in next time as they try to convince Tsuande to return to Konoha.

Don't forget to review if you liked it, see you later.


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